Bia Mesquita was overjoyed when she learned that her UFC debut would come in her hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, surrounded by friends and family, and alongside her American Top Team teammate Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
On October 11, the undefeated bantamweight and 10-time Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion made the walk to the Octagon for the first time at Farmasi Arena, collecting a second-round submission win over Irina Alekseeva to move to 6-0 as a professional and begin her UFC adventure on a positive note.
“Oh my God…” began Mesquita, unable to put words to the experience of her first UFC start just a few days ahead of her sophomore appearance against Montse Rendon on Saturday night at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.