Karen Alexa Grasso Montes (born August 9, 1993) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight division. She is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 29, 2022, she is #5 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Grasso made her professional MMA debut in December 2012 in her native Mexico. During the first eighteen months of her career, she amassed an undefeated record of 5 wins (3 by TKO, 2 by decision) and 0 losses.

Invicta FC

After taking a year away from the sport, Grasso made her Invicta FC debut on September 6, 2014 against Ashley Cummins at Invicta FC 8. She won the fight via unanimous decision. In her second fight for the promotion, Grasso faced Alida Gray on December 5, 2014 at Invicta FC 10. She won the fight via TKO in the first round. Grasso next faced Mizuki Inoue on February 27, 2015 in the co-main event at Invicta FC 11. She won the fight by unanimous decision. The bout also earned Grasso her first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Grasso was expected to challenge

Livia Renata Souza Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14. Livia was the ...

for the Invicta Strawweight Title at Invicta FC 14 on 12 September 2015 but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On August 11, 2016, it was announced that Grasso had signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She faced Heather Jo Clark on November 5, 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson in Mexico City, Mexico. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Grasso next faced Felice Herrig on February 4, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 104. She lost the fight by unanimous decision, marking the first defeat in her professional career. On August 5, 2017, Grasso faced

Randa Markos Randa Cemil Markos-Thomas (born August 10, 1985) is an Iraqi-born Canadian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Personal life Markos was ...

at UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno. Grasso suffered from a urinary tract infection and was medically advised to stop cutting weight and be placed on antibiotics, as a result she came in at 119 lbs, three pounds over the strawweight limit and was fined 20% of her purse that went to Markos. The bout proceeded at a catchweight. Grasso won the fight via split decision. Grasso faced Tatiana Suarez on May 19, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 129. She lost the fight via a rear-naked choke in round one. Grasso was scheduled to face Angela Hill on August 25, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 135. However, Grasso was pulled out from the bout on July 19, 2018 due to knee injury. Grasso was expected to face Marina Rodriguez on February 2, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 144 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, it was reported on December 17, 2018 that Rodriguez pulled out of the event due to a hand injury. The pair was rescheduled to

UFC on ESPN 2 ''UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 2'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 30, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Backgr ...

. However, on March 22, 2019 it was reported Grasso was injured and she was replaced by Jessica Aguilar. Grasso faced Karolina Kowalkiewicz on June 8, 2019 at

UFC 238 ''UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 8, 2019 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Champi ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Grasso faced Carla Esparza on September 21, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 17 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. She lost the fight by majority decision. This fight earned her the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Grasso was scheduled to face Cláudia Gadelha on January 18, 2020 at

UFC 246 ''UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 18, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. However, on the day of the weigh-ins, Grasso weighed in at 121.5, 5.5 pounds over the non-title strawweight limit of 116 lbs. The NSAC decided to remove the fight because competitors are not allowed to compete if the weight between them is over 3 pounds. In a statement released just hours after the weigh-ins, Grasso apologized for missing weight, and declared she will now be fighting at flyweight.

Move up to flyweight

Grasso was scheduled to face Ji Yeon Kim on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. However, due to travel restrictions for both fighters due to COVID-19 pandemic, the bout was rescheduled on August 29, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 175 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Grasso faced Maycee Barber on February 13, 2021 at UFC 258. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Grasso was scheduled to face

Joanne Wood Joanne Wood (; born 23 December 1986) is a Scottish professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai champion who competed in the Women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Biography Wood first started Muay Thai ...

on November 20, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 198 ''UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN+ 56'', ''UFC Vegas 43'' and ''UFC Fight Night 198'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 20, 2021 at the UFC ...

. However, Grasso was forced to pull out from the event due to injury and she was replaced by Taila Santos. Grasso was expected to face Viviane Araújo on January 22, 2022 at UFC 270. However, Araújo was forced to pull out from the event due to injury, and the bout was cancelled. Grasso faced

in a re-scheduled bout on March 26, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 33 ''UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 33'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 26, 2022 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Bac ...

. She won the fight via a rear-naked choke in the first round. Grasso was rescheduled to face Viviane Araújo on August 13, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 41 ''UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Cruz'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 41'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 13, 2022, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, United States. Backgr ...

. However, the bout was cancelled due to Grasso's visa issues. The pair was yet again rescheduled on October 15, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 212. Grasso won the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship ** Fight of the Night (One time) **Third most significant strikes thrown in a 3-round fight (369) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz *

MMAJunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2015 February Fight of the Month vs. Mizuki Inoue * Invicta Fighting Championships **Fight of the Night (one time) **Performance of the Night (one time) vs. Jodie Esquibel

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Viviane Araújo , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araújo , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 ,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Maycee Barber , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 258 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Ji Yeon Kim , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 , Carla Esparza , Decision (majority) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Mexico City, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Karolina Kowalkiewicz , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Chicago, Illinois, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Tatiana Suarez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 , Santiago, Chile , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Mexico City, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 , Felice Herrig , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Heather Jo Clark , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Mexico City, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Jodie Esquibel , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel , , 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 , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Mizuki Inoue , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Los Angeles, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Alida Gray , TKO (punches) , Invicta FC 10: Waterson vs. Tiburcio , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Ashley Cummins , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 8: Waterson vs. Tamada , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Karina Rodríguez , Decision (unanimous) , Xtreme Kombat 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Izcalli Izcalli is the name of the eighteenth and last month of the Aztec calendar. It is also a festival in the Aztec religion, for which the principal deity is Xiuhtecuhtli In Aztec mythology, Xiuhtecuhtli ("Turquoise Lord" or "Lord of Fire"), was ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Alejandra Alvarez , TKO (punches and knees) , Xtreme Kombat 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Lupita Hernandez , KO (punch) , Fight Hard Championship 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:12 ,

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Sandra del Rincon , KO (punch) , GEX: Old Jack's Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:15 ,

, Mexico , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grasso, Alexa 1993 births Living people Strawweight mixed martial artists Mexican female mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexican practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu