Alesha Zappitella (born February 28, 1995) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. She is currently signed to the

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

, where she is a former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion.

Background

Growing up in Ohio, Alesha started wrestling – as the sole girl in boys' team – at the age of five. She also played softball, but quit it after her coach advised her to drop wrestling in order to focus in the "girl sport" which would get her somewhere. She went on to become a two-time Ohio state champion in girls wrestling, five-time All-American before eventually placing sixth in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Mixed martial arts career

Invicta

Early Invicta career

Zappitella made her professional debut against Jayme Hinshaw at KOTC Equalizer on 15 October 2016. She won the fight by unanimous decision. She would go on to amass a 3–0 record, with a single no-contest, which earned her the notice of

. Invicta scheduled her debut against Shino VanHoose at Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander. VanHoose later withdrew from the bout and was replaced by

Jillian DeCoursey Jillian DeCoursey (born July 26, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Atomweight division of the Invicta FC, where she is the current Atomweight champion. As of November 21, 2022, Sherdog ranks DeCoursey as ...

. Zappitella won the bout by unanimous decision. Zappitella was scheduled to fight Amber Brown at Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Zappitella was scheduled to fight

Viviane Pereira Viviane "Sucuri' Pereira (born August 8, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and competes in strawweight division. She last competed for Invicta Fighting Championships. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pereira has also fought ...

at Invicta FC 35: Bennett vs. Rodriguez II. Pereira missed the scales, weighing in 0.6 lbs over the atomweight limit. Zappitella lost for the first time in her professional career, as Pereira won the fight by unanimous decision. Following her first loss, Zappitella briefly left Invicta, being scheduled to fight

Kanna Asakura Kanna Asakura ( ja, 浅倉栞南); born October 12, 1997 in Chiba, Japan is a female Japanese mixed martial artist. She competes in the Atomweight (106 lb) division and is currently signed with the Rizin Fighting Federation. She is the #6 rank ...

at RIZIN 18. Asakura won the fight by split decision. Returning to Invicta, Zappitella was scheduled to fight Kelly D'Angelo at Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II. Zappitella snapped her two-fight losing streak, winning the bout by unanimous decision. Zappitella was scheduled to fight

Lindsey VanZandt Lindsey VanZandt (born August 6, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist, currently fighting in the atomweight division of Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts career Early career VanZandt made her professional debut against Katie Saull at KOTC - R ...

at Invicta FC 40: Ducote vs. Lima. Zappitella won the fight by split decision (28-29, 29–27, 30–27). The majority of media members scored the fight for Zappitella.

Invicta Atomweight title reign

Zappitella was scheduled to fight

Ashley Cummins Ashley Cummins (born August 2, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Atomweight division. She has previously fought in Invicta FC. Personal life Cummins started martial arts as a child with karate. She continued as a pr ...

at Invicta FC 42: Cummins vs. Zappitella for the vacant Invicta FC Atomweight Championship. Cummins was the more dominant party throughout the first two rounds, winning the majority of striking exchanges and stopping Zappitella's takedowns. In the first minute of the third round, Zappitella managed to land an early takedown and countered Cummins' guillotine choke attempt with a

Von Flue choke A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...

. It was the first Von Flue choke finish in Invicta FC history. Zappitella made her first title defense against

Jéssica Delboni Jéssica Correa Delboni (born 7 September 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the atomweight division of Invicta FC, where she is the former Atomweight champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career Delboni made ...

at Invicta 44: Rodríguez vs. Torquato on May 21, 2021. She won the bout by a razor close split decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 48–47 in Zappitella's favor, while the third judge scored it 48–47 in Delboni's favor. All of the media members scored the fight for Delboni. Zappitella rematched

on January 12, 2022, at Invicta FC 45. She lost the bout and the title via unanimous decision, with scores of 50–45, 50–45 and 49–46.

Move to strawweight

Moving up to Strawweight, Zappitella faced

Emily Ducote Emily Ducote (born January 1, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She previously competed in Invicta FC, where she was the Invicta FC Strawweigh ...

for the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship on May 11, 2022, at Invicta FC 47. She lost the bout after doctors stopped the bout after the second round due to a cut on her eyelid.

Personal life

Zappitella works as a

paraprofessional educator A paraprofessional educator, alternatively known as a paraeducator, para-pro, instructional assistant, educational assistant, teacher's aide or classroom assistant, is a teaching-related position within a school generally responsible for specializ ...

in the

Howell Howell may refer to: Places In the United Kingdom *Howell, Lincolnshire, England In the United States *Howell, Georgia * Howell, Evansville, a neighborhood of Evansville, Indiana *Howell, Michigan *Howell, Missouri *Howell, Utah *Howell Cou ...

Public Schools district. Zappitella also works as a women's

self defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

coach at the Michigan Institute of Athletics. She is a fan and avid player of the collectible strategy card game

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

Championships and accomplishments

Wrestling

* 2012 Vaughn Cadet National Championships Freestyle 105 lbs 3rd Place * 2013 Vaughn Cadet National Championships Freestyle 105 lbs 5th Place * 2016 USA Olympic Trials Freestyle 105 lbs Qualifier

Mixed Martial Arts

** Invicta FC Atomweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense **Performance of the Night (Three times) vs.

, Amber Brown and

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 (1) ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Invicta FC 47: Ducote vs. Zappitella , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 45: Zappitella vs. Delboni II , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 (1) ,

, Decision (split) , Invicta FC 44: Rodríguez vs. Torquato , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 (1) ,

, Submission (Von Flue choke) , Invicta FC 42: Cummins vs. Zappitella , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 (1) ,

, Decision (split) , Invicta FC 40: Ducote vs. Lima , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 (1) , Kelly D'Angelo , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 (1) ,

, Decision (split) , RIZIN 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nagoya, Japan is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the List of Japanese cities by population, fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast i ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 35: Bennett vs. Rodriguez II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , Catchweight (106.7 lbs) bout, Pereira missed weight. , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 (1) , Amber Brown , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States , Performance of the Night. , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , Performance of the Night. , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 (1) , Kyna Sisson , Decision (split) , WXC 71: Night of Champions 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Southgate, Michigan Southgate is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 30,047 at the 2020 census. Southgate was incorporated as a city in October 1958, which was one of the last remaining portions of the now-defunct Ecorse Town ...

, United States , Strawweight bout. , - , NC , align=center, 2–0 (1) , Stephanie Alba , No Contest (overturned) , Combate 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, United States , Decision win for Zappitella overturned due to testing positive for marijuana , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Miao Ding , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Kunlun Fight MMA 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:17 ,

Sanya, China Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, livi ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jayme Hinshaw , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC Equalizer , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin Lac du Flambeau is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,004 at the 2000 census. The land base of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is located within the town and also consists of a large portion ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2–1 , Jessica Ertl , Submission (Keylock) , NAFC: Super Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area that ...

, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–2–1 , Tiffany Masters , Draw (Decision) , KOTC: Bitter Enemies , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Keshena, Wisconsin Keshena ( mez, Kesīqnæh) is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Menominee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located on the Menominee Indian Reservation, it had a population of 1,257 at the 2020 census. Keshena was named ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Cynthia Arceo , TKO (Punches) , KOTC: Warriors , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:09 ,

Socorro, Texas Socorro is a city in El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Rio Grande southeast of El Paso, and on the border of Mexico. El Paso adjoins it on the west and the smaller city of San Elizario on the southeast; sm ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Kyna Sisson , Submission (Triangle choke) , WXC 56: College Throwdown , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 ,

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

, United States , For the WXC Amateur Strawweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Elane Santiago , Decision (Unanimous) , WXC 54: Night of Champions 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, United States , , -

References

External links

*
Alesha Zappitella
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zappitella, Alesha 1993 births Living people Atomweight mixed martial artists American female mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners People from Conneaut, Ohio Sportspeople from Ohio 21st-century American women