Alexa Grasso Prefers One More Five-Round Fight Before Title Shot

Alexa Grasso passed the first five-round test of her professional career on Saturday night.

The Mexican standout outdueled Viviane Araujo for a unanimous decision triumph in the UFC Fight Night 212 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and she was quite pleased with the end result.

“This was my first time fighting five rounds,” Grasso said at the post-fight press conference. “The training was super hard. The fight was hard too. She’s a tough warrior. I think we did a great job. I did everything I trained for.”

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Grasso was able to outland her opponent in significant strikes, but perhaps even more impressively, she stuffed the majority of Araujo’s takedown attempts. And when she was taken down, she was able to return to her feet in relatively swift fashion.

“I’m super proud. She’s a Brazilian (jiu-jitsu) black belt,” Grasso said. “She’s the toughest opponent I’ve faced. I had two fights with two amazing wrestlers. Every fight that is hard for you helps you to improve better. This is the moment in my life where I finally matched the wrestling and jiu-jitsu. I feel a lot more comfortable in any situation.”

Still, it was a competitive fight with many closely-contested rounds that could have gone either way. When the final verdict was announced, Grasso was confident that the scorecards would favor her.

“I knew I won this fight. I did a lot of damage,” she said. “My punches were a lot harder. Even when she was on the fence, she was doing nothing. I was hitting her instead. I was on the cage but I was throwing knees, elbows. With all respect, she didn’t do too much.”

Grasso said she will keep a close eye on the flyweight clash between Manon Fiorot and Katlyn Chookagian scheduled for UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as that bout could also have serious implications for the 125-pound title picture. Grasso has won four straight fights since moving to flyweight from 115 pounds, but she isn’t dead set on a title shot next. Instead, she believes another main event might be more beneficial to her.

“I don’t know. I have to wait. There’s another important fight too. It’s kind of like semifinals,” she said. “I faced a big challenge, 25 minutes (of) fighting. I hope I can do it again. I wish I could have another main event, with one of the girls, the ones that are on the top. I would like to test myself again one more time 25 minutes before that. But if I have to go for the belt I will do it.”