The UK’s Melissa Dixon and Irina Alekseeva featured in a bantamweight clash tonight at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The card labelled UFC Vegas 81 consists of eleven bouts, with two feared strikers taking the headlining spot. Fan favourite and UFC veteran Edson Barbosa faces Sodiq Yusuff in the main event. The co-headliner features a women’s flyweight matchup between Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araujo.
Hailing from the UK, Melissa Dixon is a serious female prospect with a record of 5-0. She enters her UFC debut holding an undefeated record with three first-round stoppages to her name. With a championship win in UK regional promotion Golden Ticket Fight Promotions and victories in Ares Fighting Championship, Dixons shot on the biggest stage is well earned.
Meanwhile, her opponent, Irina Alekseeva, is no stranger to the bright lights, having competed under the Bellator MMA banner as well as made her UFC debut in her most recent outing. In April of this year, Alekseeva made her debut and bagged herself a first-round submission win over Stephanie Egger. The 33-year-old holds a record of 5-1, with her only loss coming against Liliya Kazak in 2019.
Melissa Dixon vs. Irina Alekseeva
The first round was all Dixon, landing the shots and being successful with fundamentals. Alekseeva’s attacks were miles off, and the jab was butchering her…until she landed a 1-2 straight down the pipe and sat Dixon to the canvas. Dixon was able to get back to her feet and make it into the second round.
In the second round, Dixon dominated, with most of the fight on the canvas. Dixon controlled the fight on the ground and didn’t give Alekseeva a chance to breathe. There was a lot to like technically on the ground from the Brit in the second.
Dixon was able to tough out a gutsy decision to move to 6-0 and got the nod on the judges scorecards after a bloody affair.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
