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 | 21 |
| Wins | 16 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 10 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| 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) in the women's Flyweight division. Alexa Grasso used to be the UFC Women's Flyweight Champion.
She is the first Mexican woman to win a UFC championship. She is also the second Mexican fighter overall to win a UFC title. Grasso also works as a UFC analyst for Spanish broadcasts. As of September 2024, she is ranked #1 in the UFC women's flyweight division. She is also #3 in the overall UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.
Contents
Alexa Grasso's Fighting Journey
Starting Her Career
Alexa Grasso began her professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in December 2012. This was in her home country of Mexico. For the first year and a half, she was undefeated. She won 5 fights and had no losses. Three of her wins were by TKO (technical knockout), and two were by decision.
Fighting in Invicta FC
After a break, Grasso joined Invicta FC in September 2014. She won her first fight there against Ashley Cummins by a unanimous decision.
In December 2014, she fought Alida Gray at Invicta FC 10. Alexa won this fight by TKO in the first round.
Her next big fight was against Mizuki Inoue in February 2015. She won by unanimous decision. This fight was so exciting that it earned Grasso her first Fight of the Night award. She was supposed to fight for the Invicta Strawweight Title in September 2015, but an injury stopped her.
Joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
In August 2016, Alexa Grasso signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Her first UFC fight was in Mexico City in November 2016. She fought Heather Jo Clark and won by unanimous decision.
In February 2017, Grasso faced Felice Herrig. She lost this fight by unanimous decision. This was her first loss in her professional career.
Later in August 2017, she fought Randa Markos. Grasso had a health issue and weighed a bit more than the limit. The fight still happened, and Grasso won by a split decision.
In May 2018, Grasso lost to Tatiana Suarez by a rear-naked choke in the first round. She was set to fight Angela Hill in August 2018, but a knee injury made her withdraw.
Grasso then faced Karolina Kowalkiewicz in June 2019 at UFC 238. She won this fight by unanimous decision.
In September 2019, she fought Carla Esparza. Grasso lost this fight by a majority decision. However, their exciting fight earned them the Fight of the Night award.
In January 2020, Grasso was scheduled to fight Cláudia Gadelha. But Grasso weighed in too much for the strawweight division. Because of this, the fight was cancelled. After this, Grasso decided to move to a higher weight class, the flyweight division.
Moving to Flyweight
Alexa Grasso's first fight in the flyweight division was in August 2020. She fought Kim Ji-yeon and won by unanimous decision.
In February 2021, she faced Maycee Barber at UFC 258. Grasso won this fight by unanimous decision as well.
She was scheduled to fight Joanne Wood in November 2021, but an injury forced her out. They fought later in March 2022. Grasso won by a rear-naked choke in the first round.
Grasso was also scheduled to fight Viviane Araújo twice, but both fights were postponed. They finally fought in October 2022. Grasso won by unanimous decision.
Becoming UFC Women's Flyweight Champion
On March 4, 2023, Alexa Grasso had a huge fight. She challenged Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship at UFC 285. Many people thought Shevchenko would win. But Grasso surprised everyone! She won the fight in the fourth round by a special move called a face crank.
This win made her the first Mexican woman to become a UFC champion. She also earned the Performance of the Night bonus award for her amazing win.
Grasso defended her title in a rematch against Valentina Shevchenko on September 16, 2023. The fight was very close and ended in a split draw, meaning neither fighter won. So, Grasso kept her championship title.
In February 2024, it was announced that Grasso and Shevchenko would be coaches on the TV show The Ultimate Fighter 32. They fought for a third time on September 14, 2024, at UFC 306. Grasso lost the championship by unanimous decision in this fight.
Achievements and Awards
Mixed Martial Arts
- 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) against Carla Esparza.
- Performance of the Night (One time) against Valentina Shevchenko (first fight).
- UFC Women's Flyweight Championship (One time)
- MMAJunkie.com
- 2023 Female Fighter of the Year.
- Invicta Fighting Championships
- Fight of the Night (one time) against Mizuki Inoue.
- Performance of the Night (one time) against Jodie Esquibel.
- Sherdog
- 2023 Submission of the Year against Valentina Shevchenko.
- MMAFighting.com
- 2023 Submission of the Year against Valentina Shevchenko.
- Cageside Press
- 2023 Fighter of the Year (Female).
- 2023 Submission of the Year against Valentina Shevchenko.
- World MMA Awards
- 2023 Female Fighter of the Year.
- 2023 Submission of the Year against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285.
- 2023 Upset of the Year against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 285.
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Women's MMA MVP (2023).
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 21 matches | 16 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 10 | 3 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
