Alice Pereira beats ranked opponent at UFC and fires back: “My division is more alive than ever”
The youngest fighter in the UFC, the 20-year-old Brazilian stopped Russia’s Daria Zhelezniakova in Las Vegas, earned her second straight bonus and answered the critics of women’s bantamweight
Alice Pereira is 20 years old, the youngest fighter on the UFC roster, and she left Las Vegas on Saturday (Oct. 10) with a win over a ranked opponent. The Brazilian from Feira de Santana, in the state of Bahia, beat Russia’s Daria Zhelezniakova, No. 15 at bantamweight, by TKO at the end of the first round at UFC Fight Night, held at the Meta Apex, and took home one of the night’s four $100,000 bonuses. Still in the Octagon, microphone in hand, she sent a message in Portuguese to the people who criticize her weight class: “My division is more alive than ever, because I’m here.”
The fight lasted five minutes. Pereira started out trading strikes on the feet, closed the distance, landed knees to the body and took the Russian down. She landed in half guard, moved to mount, took the back for a moment and went back to mount. In the final seconds, a run of punches and elbows opened a deep cut on Zhelezniakova’s head. Between rounds, after the doctor checked her, the Russian told the referee she did not want to continue. The official result was a TKO by doctor’s stoppage at 5:00 of round one.
A striker who won on the ground
The way she won stood out because it was different from what Pereira had shown so far. She is a kickboxing black belt and, according to the UFC’s official stats, had not completed a single takedown in three attempts across her first two fights in the promotion. Of the 69 significant strikes she landed in those bouts, 62 came on the feet.
The ground game, though, was already part of her toolbox. The Brazilian is a Jiu-Jitsu blue belt and, as an amateur, won the Copa Brasil Northeast in both her weight class and the open class, according to her profile on the UFC website. Talking to Michael Bisping, she explained that her team knew her striking could be the better of the two, but that her opponent has very good straight punches, so she decided to show another side of her game. “The plan was exactly what you saw,” she said. “You haven’t seen even half of what I can do.”
The message to the media
Before handing back the microphone, Pereira said she had a message for every journalist. “Be careful what you say. My division is more alive than ever, because I’m here,” she said. Then she added: “Keep quiet, because I’m here.”
The target is the reputation of women’s bantamweight. The division, where American Kayla Harrison is the champion, has the fewest active fighters in the UFC, according to MMA Junkie, and it was the critics of the weight class that the Brazilian was talking to. The rankings include Brazilians such as Norma Dumont (No. 5), Luana Santos (No. 7), Karol Rosa (No. 10) and Bia Mesquita (No. 11), a Jiu-Jitsu world champion. Zhelezniakova was listed at No. 15 in the rankings the UFC published before the event.
Two bonuses in three fights
Pereira started training in 2022, turned professional in 2023 and, before she fought for a living, worked cleaning equipment at a gym. She reached the UFC at 19 and lost her debut, in September 2025, by split decision to Mexico’s Montserrat Rendon. In April of this year, she knocked out American Hailey Cowan with a knee in the second round and earned her first bonus. Saturday’s was her second in a row. Her record is now eight wins and one loss. She represents Life MMA and Portugal Top Team, and her idol is Charles Oliveira.
The other three bonuses of the night went to Brendan Allen, Andre Fili and Otari Tanzilovi. VF Comunica reported how Allen submitted Christian Leroy Duncan in the main event and how the other Brazilians did.
After beating a ranked opponent, does Alice Pereira already deserve a fight against someone in the bantamweight top 10? Leave your opinion in the comments.
