Alexa Grasso facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alexa Grasso |
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Grasso in 2023
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| Born | Karen Alexa Grasso Montes August 9, 1993 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) |
| Division | Strawweight (2012–2020) Flyweight (2020–present) |
| Reach | 66 in (168 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico |
| Team | Lobo Gym MMA |
| Trainer | Francisco Grasso Diego Lopes (BJJ) |
| Rank | Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 22 |
| Wins | 16 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 10 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Draws | 1 |
Karen Alexa Grasso Montes (born August 9, 1993) is a professional mixed martial artist from Mexico. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is a major organization for mixed martial arts. Alexa Grasso was once the champion in the UFC's women's Flyweight division.
She made history as the first Mexican woman to win a UFC championship. She was also the second Mexican fighter overall to win a UFC title, following Brandon Moreno. Besides fighting, Alexa Grasso also works as a UFC analyst, helping explain fights on Spanish broadcasts. As of July 2025, she is ranked among the top fighters in her division.
Contents
Alexa Grasso's Fighting Journey
Starting Her Career
Alexa Grasso began her professional mixed martial arts career in December 2012 in Mexico. For the first year and a half, she was undefeated. She won 5 fights without any losses. Three of her wins were by TKO (Technical Knockout), which means the referee stopped the fight because her opponent couldn't continue safely. The other two wins were decided by judges.
Fighting in Invicta FC
After a short break, Alexa Grasso joined Invicta FC in September 2014. This is another well-known fighting organization. In her first fight there, she won against Ashley Cummins by a unanimous decision, meaning all the judges agreed she won.
She continued to win in Invicta FC. In December 2014, she won by TKO in the first round against Alida Gray. In February 2015, she faced Mizuki Inoue and won by unanimous decision. This exciting fight also earned her a "Fight of the Night" bonus award, given for the most entertaining fight.
Joining the UFC
In August 2016, Alexa Grasso signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. Her first UFC fight was in November 2016 in Mexico City, where she won by unanimous decision against Heather Jo Clark.
Her first professional loss came in February 2017 against Felice Herrig. Later that year, she faced Randa Markos. Alexa had some health issues that made it hard to reach the required weight for the fight. She was a bit over the weight limit, so she had to give a part of her fight money to her opponent. Despite this, she won the fight by a split decision, meaning some judges thought she won, and others thought her opponent won.
In May 2018, she lost a fight to Tatiana Suarez by a submission called a "rear-naked choke." This is a move where a fighter uses their arms to squeeze an opponent's neck, making them give up. Alexa also had to pull out of a fight in August 2018 because of a knee injury.
She continued to face tough opponents. In June 2019, she won against Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision. In September 2019, she had a very close fight with Carla Esparza, which she lost by a majority decision. This fight was so exciting that it also earned her a "Fight of the Night" bonus.
Moving to Flyweight
In January 2020, Alexa Grasso had trouble making the weight for her division again. Because of this, she decided to move up to a heavier weight class, the Flyweight division. This meant she would no longer have to cut as much weight before fights.
Her first fight in the flyweight division was in August 2020 against Kim Ji-yeon, which she won by unanimous decision. She continued her winning streak in February 2021, defeating Maycee Barber by unanimous decision.
Alexa Grasso was scheduled for a few fights that were later canceled due to injuries or travel issues for her or her opponents. However, she returned to the octagon in March 2022 and won against Joanne Wood with a rear-naked choke in the first round. She then won another fight by unanimous decision against Viviane Araújo in October 2022.
Becoming a UFC Champion
On March 4, 2023, Alexa Grasso had a huge fight for the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship against Valentina Shevchenko. Many people thought Shevchenko would win, but Alexa surprised everyone! She won the championship in the fourth round with a special submission move called a "face crank." This made her the first Mexican woman to ever win a UFC title. Her amazing win also earned her a "Performance of the Night" bonus award.
She defended her title in a rematch against Valentina Shevchenko on September 16, 2023. That fight ended in a split draw, meaning the judges couldn't agree on a clear winner, so Alexa kept her championship.
In February 2024, it was announced that Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko would be coaches on a TV show called The Ultimate Fighter 32. They faced each other for a third time on September 14, 2024, at UFC 306. In this fight, Alexa lost her championship to Shevchenko by unanimous decision.
After the Championship
In her first fight after losing the title, Alexa Grasso competed at UFC 315 in Montreal, Canada, on May 10, 2025. She faced Natália Silva and lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Achievements and Awards
Alexa Grasso has achieved many great things in her mixed martial arts career:
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Women's Flyweight Championship (One time)
- She successfully defended her title once.
- First Mexican woman to win a UFC championship.
- Fight of the Night (One time) for her fight against Carla Esparza.
- Performance of the Night (One time) for her first win against Valentina Shevchenko.
- She threw the third most significant strikes in a 3-round fight (369) against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
- UFC Women's Flyweight Championship (One time)
- Invicta Fighting Championships
- Fight of the Night (one time) for her fight against Mizuki Inoue.
- Performance of the Night (one time) for her fight against Jodie Esquibel.
- Other Awards
- In 2023, she was named Female Fighter of the Year by several groups like MMAJunkie.com, Cageside Press, World MMA Awards, and ESPN.
- Her submission win against Valentina Shevchenko in 2023 was named "Submission of the Year" by many different sports news outlets.
- Her win against Valentina Shevchenko in 2023 was also called "Upset of the Year" because many people didn't expect her to win.
Mixed Martial Arts Record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 22 matches | 16 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 10 | 4 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 16–5–1 | Natália Silva | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 315 | May 10, 2025 | 3 | 5:00 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Loss | 16–4–1 | Valentina Shevchenko | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 306 | September 14, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lost the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship. |
| Draw | 16–3–1 | Valentina Shevchenko | Draw (split) | UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 | September 16, 2023 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Retained the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 16–3 | Valentina Shevchenko | Submission (face crank) | UFC 285 | March 4, 2023 | 4 | 4:34 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 15–3 | Viviane Araújo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araújo | October 15, 2022 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 14–3 | Joanne Wood | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus | March 26, 2022 | 1 | 3:57 | Columbus, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 13–3 | Maycee Barber | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 258 | February 13, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12–3 | Kim Ji-yeon | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić | August 29, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Flyweight debut. |
| Loss | 11–3 | Carla Esparza | Decision (majority) | UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens | September 21, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Mexico City, Mexico | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 11–2 | Karolina Kowalkiewicz | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 238 | June 8, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Loss | 10–2 | Tatiana Suarez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman | May 19, 2018 | 1 | 2:44 | Santiago, Chile | |
| Win | 10–1 | Randa Markos | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno | August 5, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Mexico City, Mexico | Catchweight (119 lb) bout; Grasso missed weight. |
| Loss | 9–1 | Felice Herrig | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie | February 4, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Heather Jo Clark | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson | November 5, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Win | 8–0 | Jodie Esquibel | Decision (unanimous) | Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel | July 29, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 7–0 | Mizuki Inoue | Decision (unanimous) | Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet | February 27, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 6–0 | Alida Gray | TKO (punches) | Invicta FC 10: Waterson vs. Tiburcio | December 5, 2014 | 1 | 1:47 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Ashley Cummins | Decision (unanimous) | Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs. Tamada | September 6, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Karina Rodríguez | Decision (unanimous) | Xtreme Kombat 20 | August 31, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Izcalli, Mexico | |
| Win | 3–0 | Alejandra Alvarez | TKO (punches and knees) | Xtreme Kombat 20 | August 31, 2013 | 1 | 0:36 | Izcalli, Mexico | |
| Win | 2–0 | Lupita Hernandez | KO (punch) | Fight Hard Championship 3 | May 11, 2013 | 1 | 0:12 | Jalisco, Mexico | |
| Win | 1–0 | Sandra del Rincon | KO (punch) | GEX: Old Jack's Fight Night | December 19, 2012 | 1 | 0:15 | Jalisco, Mexico | Strawweight debut. |
See also
In Spanish: Alexa Grasso para niños
- List of female mixed martial artists
- List of current UFC fighters
