UFC Fight Night 261: Beatriz Mesquita vs Irina Alekseeva Preview & Prediction
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Jiu-jitsu ace Beatriz Mesquita makes her UFC debut as the hometown favorite, taking on Russia's Irina Alekseeva at bantamweight.
Beatriz Mesquita vs Irina Alekseeva facts
What time are Beatriz Mesquita and Irina Alekseeva expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night 261: Oliveira vs Gamrot? Farmasi Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 261: Oliveira vs Gamrot? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 261: Oliveira vs Gamrot
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night 261: Oliveira vs Gamrot on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN+
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 261: Oliveira vs Gamrot? UK – TNT Sports subscribers can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night 261: Oliveira vs Gamrot main card
Charles Oliveira vs Mateusz Gamrot (Lightweight)
Deiveson Figueiredo vs Montel Jackson (Bantamweight)
Vicente Luque vs Joel Alvarez (Welterweight)
Jhonata Diniz vs Mario Pinto (Heavyweight)
Ricardo Ramos vs Kaan Ofli (Featherweight)
Lucas Almeida vs Michael Aswell (Featherweight)
UFC Fight Night 261: Oliveira vs Gamrot prelims
Jafel Filho vs Clayton Carpenter (Flyweight)
Vitor Petrino vs Thomas Petersen (Heavyweight)
Beatriz Mesquita vs Irina Alekseeva (Women’s Bantamweight)
Lucas Rocha vs Stewart Nicoll (Flyweight)
Julia Polastri vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz (Women’s Strawweight)
Luan Lacerda vs Saimon Oliveira (Bantamweight)
Beatriz Mesquita: The grappling standout looking to make a splash in her UFC debut
A second degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with grappling victories over the likes of Miesha Tate, Jennifer Maia, and Ffion Davos, Beatriz Mesquita (5-0) has been perfect in her career since making the jump to MMA. While she's hardly a prospect at 34, "Bia" is as dangerous as they come on the ground. The Brazilian submission ace has finished all of her fights inside the distance, with the exception of a disqualification win where an illegal kick landed while she was grounded.
Irina Alekseeva: "Russian Ronda" enters her fourth UFC fight as an enormous underdog
Owner of a 1-2 UFC run to date, Irina Alekseeva (5-3) enters this fight knowing that she may well be fighting for her job here; defeat to Mesquita would signal her third straight loss in the promotion. "Russian Ronda" scored an impressive knee bar victory over Stephanie Egger in her debut, but she also missed weight for that match up by a whopping five pounds. It's been nothing but "L's" for Alekseeva since, losing back to back decisions against Melissa Mullens and Klaudia Sygula.
Beatriz Mesquita vs Irina Alekseeva prediction
For some strange reason, it's hard to escape the feeling that the UFC put this match up together in order for Mesquita to win by submission in front of a baying partisan crowd.
Alekseeva is tough and has never been finished, but she's looked pretty woeful in her last two performances. Melissa Mullens and Klaudia Sygula are far from the upper echelon of the division, and they had very little difficulty in dismantling the Russian across three rounds. She's also only ever finished a fight via submission, an area of the fight that she would be wise not to engage her current opponent in.
By contrast, Mesquita might have largely been beating cans, but she's been largely destroying them too. While there's a concern that the 5'8 Alekseeva might be too big for her to drag down, "Bia" took out an undefeated 5'11 fighter in her last outing; at the very least, she's not simply going to get outmuscled here.
At 30, the promotion clearly want to leverage as much out of Mesquita's grappling credentials as possible. They've given her a favourable match-up in the hopes of fast-tracking her and scoring a memorable moment in front of the home crowd. Alekseeva could potentially upset the applecart in hilarious fashion, but it would be unwise to bet on it.
The pick is Mesquita by second round submission.
Prediction: Beatriz Mesquita to win by submission
