BJJ legend Bia Mesquita is off to a hot start in her MMA career, and now she’ll test herself in the sport’s premier organization.
Mesquita (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a 10-time world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is regarded as one of the discipline’s best female practitioners ever.
She’ll debut at the UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 11 at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro against Irina Alekseeva in a three-round bantamweight bout.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Brazilian journalist Leo Guimaraes first reported the booking Wednesday.
Mesquita, 34, made her pro MMA debut in June 2024. She quickly rattled off five finishes in as many fights, including a second-round knockout of Sierra Dinwoodie in June 2025 to earn the LFA women’s bantamweight title.
Alekseeva (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) won her debut against Stephanie Egger by first-round kneebar but has since dropped back-to-back unanimous decisions to Melissa Mullins and Klaudia Sygula.
With the addition, the UFC Rio lineup includes:
- Thomas Petersen vs. Vitor Petrino
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Julia Polastri
- Stewart Nicoll vs. Lucas Rocha
- Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Bia Mesquita
