Irina Alekseeva showed a bad account of herself prior to UFC Fight Night 223 by missing weight, but when she got in the cage, she delivered.
Alekseeva (5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), nicknamed “Russian Ronda” as an homage to UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey, quickly took out Stephanie Egger (8-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) on Saturday with a first-round kneebar submission at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After some clinch exchanges early on, Alekseeva rolled into a kneebar and bend the leg of Egger, who had no choice but to tap at the 2:11 mark of Round 1.
Check out the replay of Alekseeva’s submission below (via Twitter):
KNEEBAR FOR THE WIN!!
Irina Alekseeva gets the finish in amazing fashion in round 2⃣ #UFCVegas72 pic.twitter.com/2Hgo5R7yTh
— UFC (@ufc) April 29, 2023
Just the 4th Kneebar in UFC women’s history
Irina Alekseeva makes history in her UFC debut!! #UFCVegas72 pic.twitter.com/SUG20VvJHk
— UFC (@ufc) April 29, 2023
With the win, Alekseeva became just the fourth female in UFC history to finish a fight by kneebar, and she was proud of the performance in her octagon debut.
“I didn’t care if she was going to try to beat the crap out of me, I knew I was going to keep pushing forward,” Alekseeva said through an interpreter during her post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “My will was stronger than hers and I knew there was nothing she could do to beat me.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 223 results include:
- Irina Alekseeva def. Stephanie Egger via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 2:11
- Marcus McGhee def. Journey Newson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:03
- Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Hailey Cowan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.
UFC Fight Night 223 video: ‘Russian Ronda’ Irina Alekseeva debuts with kneebar finish