The UFC has just made a major addition to its strawweight division, courtesy of Invicta FC. Mexico’s Alexa Grasso (8-0), who headlined last month’s Invicta FC 18 event in Kansas City, will return to her home country to face off against Heather Jo Clark (7-5) at the TUF Latin America 3 Finale on November 5th. Indiscutido reported the story on Thursday, with the UFC later confirming the news themselves.
Grasso tore apart a very formidable opponent in Jodie Esquibel on July 29th, which resulted in the 23-year-old receiving a Performance of the Night bonus. This was Grasso’s first fight in over a year after she had pulled out of a title fight vs. then-champion Livia Renata Souza due to injury. Invicta FC signed her in 2014 and she made her debut that September, beating Ashley Cummins by decision. A quick TKO vs. Alida Gray soon followed and she took FOTN honors to go along with her victory against Mizuki Inoue. The win against Esquibel was her first headlining spot on an Invicta FC card.
Clark is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC Rotterdam in May. The TUF 20 competitor had been inactive for nearly 2 years following a win against Bec Rawlings in the show’s season finale. Clark was eliminated by Felice Herrig by unanimous decision in the preliminary round of the TUF 20 strawweight tournament.
This is an excellent signing by the UFC. Grasso is a very talented and exciting fighter whose striking skills are arguably near the top of women’s 115 already. She’s got massive potential not just to be a future champion, but a real star at least from the standpoint of Mexican MMA, which already has a budding star in Yair Rodriguez. Grasso vs. Clark is definitely a fight to look forward to when those two meet in Mexico City.
The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 Finale (AKA UFC Fight Night 98) airs live on Fox Sports 1 and will be headlined by a lightweight showdown between former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos and Tony Ferguson. TUF LA 3 will premiere on UFC Fight Pass on Wednesday, August 24th.
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