Manon Fiorot has already decided what a win over Alexa Grasso should lead to.“I think the winner of this fight will be the next one for the belt,” Fiorot told TimesofIndia.com ahead of her flyweight bout against Grasso at UFC Noche on September 13 at Glendale, Arizona. “I’m pretty sure the winner on Saturday evening will fight for the belt in the next fight.”The title picture had changed just days before Fiorot’s fight. On September 5, the UFC announced that Valentina Shevchenko had vacated the women’s flyweight championship after telling the promotion she would be unable to compete for at least a year.Shevchenko had been scheduled to defend the belt against No. 1 contender Natalia Silva at UFC 332 on October 3, but her injury forced that fight to be scrapped. Shevchenko is expected to return and compete for the title once she is healthy.The vacant belt will now be contested by Silva and Wang Cong in the UFC 332 main event in Salt Lake City. Silva is 8-0 in the UFC and has won 14 straight fights, with her recent run including victories over former champions Rose Namajunas and Grasso, as well as former title challenger Jessica Andrade.
Shevchenko’s exit changes the title picture
For Fiorot, ranked No. 2, the change has made the route to another title opportunity look shorter.The 36-year-old French fighter is 13-2 as a professional and 8-1 in the UFC. Her only UFC defeat came against Shevchenko in a five-round decision at UFC 315 in May 2025, after Fiorot had opened her UFC career with seven straight wins. She returned five months later and stopped Jasmine Jasudavicius in 1:14 of the first round.
Fiorot has also beaten Namajunas and former title challenger Erin Blanchfield during her UFC run.“Yes, I think it’s better for me,” Fiorot said of Shevchenko’s departure. “Because it will allow the whole category to fight more. And I think I will have the title fight more quickly than if it was Valentina. I would have had to wait for Valentina if she had won in October.”The immediate hurdle though is Grasso, the No. 3 contender and former UFC women’s flyweight champion.The 33-year-old Mexican enters with a 17-5-1 professional record. She became champion in March 2023 after submitting Shevchenko with a fourth-round face crank. Their rematch six months later ended in a split draw before Shevchenko regained the belt with a unanimous decision in their third meeting in September 2024.Grasso then lost a unanimous decision to Silva at UFC 315. She returned in March this year with a first-round stoppage of Maycee Barber, putting herself back among the division’s leading contenders.And that bout piqued Fiorot’s interest.“In the top five, she is the only girl I haven’t fought again,” Fiorot said. “So after her great performance against Maycee, I think it’s time. It’s a good opportunity for us to fight together.”
Fiorot sees no one ahead of her
Fiorot’s own case for another title opportunity rests on the opponents she has already beaten. Asked what argument she would make for being next rather than the winner of the Silva-Wang title fight, she was direct.“Because I have beaten all the contenders in the division. So I don’t see who else can fight for the belt.”For now, though, Fiorot is resisting the temptation to look beyond Grasso.
“To be honest, I try not to think about it too much,” she said. “For now, I’m really focused on the fight with Alexa.”“Yes, that’s what [title shot] I want and what I would like, but I try not to think about it too much. For now, I’m focused on Saturday. And after, we have time to dream about it and focus on it. This is my goal. But right now, I’m thinking about Alexa and that’s it.”
Fiorot has had almost 11 months to prepare since her last fight. The Jasudavicius stoppage lasted only 1:14, leaving little time to see the changes she had been working on during that period.“I worked on a lot of things, but I won’t say everything now,” Fiorot said. “But I hope I can show you a bit more against Grasso. I worked on a lot of skills and things, but, to be honest, I can’t talk about them in the interview because of the game plan and the strategy. But I hope to show more and to show all my skills Saturday evening.”The long gap between fights, she said, gave her time to work on areas that might not receive the same attention during a conventional fight camp.“Yes, it allowed me to improve on a lot of things,” Fiorot said. “Because when you train for a fight, you train specifically for a fight. So I was able to work on a lot of things during all those months.”“And yes, I think I’m even better today. Definitely, I think I’m a much better fighter now than 11 months ago.”
A French MMA wave closing in on UFC gold
Fiorot is also part of a strong group of French fighters pushing toward the top of the UFC. Ciryl Gane is the promotion’s interim heavyweight champion and No. 1 heavyweight, Nassourdine Imavov is ranked No. 3 at middleweight, while Benoît Saint Denis is No. 6 at lightweight.Asked whether younger French fighters now see her as a reference point, Fiorot was unequivocal.“Yes, clearly. The French fighters are clearly rising. We are very close to the belt.”“So yes, I think it’s good for the French MMA scene and for all the young people who are coming. Definitely, I think the hype of French MMA is big and it’s a good thing for every fighter, every French fighter.”Watch NOCHE UFC – Rodriguez vs Silva on September 13, 2026, from 2:30 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada) & Sony LIV.
