Irina Alekseeva delivered a memorable Octagon debut earlier tonight (Sat., April 29, 2023) at UFC Vegas 72 live on ESPN2/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as “Russian Ronda” submitted women’s bantamweight fighter Stephanie Egger with a first-round kneebar.
Alekseeva’s hype coming into this fight died down a little bit after she missed weight on Friday. However, “Russian Ronda” proved game from the opening bell and went toe-to-toe with Egger, who has finished seven out of her eight professional wins.
The two were exchanging big shots in the middle of the cage before Egger worked around back and clinched Alekseeva from behind. That’s when “Russian Ronda” reversed and grabbed a hold of Egger’s leg while falling to the ground. Egger tried to defend, but Alekseeva was in too deep. She eventually turned and popped Egger’s knee before the tap.
Check out the submission stoppage above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
Alekseeva, 32, certainly made up for a disappointing weight miss on Friday. However, she will need to start making weight moving forward if she’s going to get bigger fights. “Russian Ronda” should be on her way to those bigger and better matchups if she can continue to use her superior submission skills to get her way.
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