Bia Mesquita | A Different Kind Of Newcomer

“(Fighting in the UFC) is something new and that’s something I really looked at when I changed careers was the challenge of the new. I don’t know what’s gonna happen or how it’s gonna be,” said Mesquita, who makes her UFC debut this weekend in Rio de Janeiro, taking Irina Alekseeva on the prelims of Saturday’s fight card at Farmasi Arena. “The unknown makes me more excited.

“At the same time, I think the experience I have being a high-level fighter, (being at) all of those event that are so big, such a high level, they bring so many eyes on you, and that’s what makes me feel ‘Oh my god — everybody is looking at me!’

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“I already have that experience, so it doesn’t make me super-nervous because I already know how to deal with that, and I kind of like it. I appreciate moments like that.”

She made her MMA debut in June 2024, registering a first-round submission win on the Spaten Fight Night card headlined by the exhibition boxing match between former heated UFC rivals Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. A couple months later, she competed at the ADCC World Championships and won bronze in her weight class as well as silver in the absolute division before shifting her focus to MMA full time.

Each of her next four appearances came under the LFA banner where she emerged victorious each time, winning her first two bouts by submission, another via disqualification against Hope Chase before pounding out a finish over Sierra Dinwiddie to claim the promotion’s bantamweight title.

That last fight came one year and five days after her debut.

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“It’s been so fast — everything is happening the way we planned it, but it’s going boom, boom, boom, super-quick,” she said with a smile. “My five fights I did in exactly 12 months: my debut was June (2024) in Brazil, and my title shot for LFA was June (2025). Five fights, 12 months is pretty quick, but every camp, I feel the progress going up, so that’s something I’m really happy about.

“Even though it’s a fast pace, I’m happy to see how it’s progressing the right way.”

That progress has come on the mats at American Top Team where the BJJ standout has a plethora of experienced coaches and training partners to learn from, including her head coach, Marcos Da Matta, better known to everyone within the community as “Parrumpa.”

“I see somebody and I say, ‘Can I ask you something? What do we do in this position?’” Mesquita joked when asked about the impact of training at ATT. “Everybody is so nice there, and I’m glad I found this place and started there.

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“Doesn’t matter where I look on the mat, I’m always gonna see a champion. The way I’m surrounded by champions and fighters going for the same goal, it’s amazing. What everybody looks for is the same — to improve themselves — and that is what makes it amazing to be there.”

As much as things have progressed quicky and she’s surrounded by valuable resources, there have been major changes that the 34-year-old has needed to navigate as she’s embarked on this new career, especially when it comes to working on the ground.

After years of drilling jiu-jitsu and focusing on the elements needed to excel in that sport, the Leticia Ribiero black belt has been forced to eschew some of the core tenets of her approach in order to implement elements that will allow her to have greater success on the canvas in MMA.

She’s also had to get used to the fact that her opponents can punch her in the face when they’re on the ground too.

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“That’s one of the biggest changes for me because while I’m standing, I’m aware — that’s the time you’re gonna punch me — but as soon as we go to the ground, my jiu-jitsu skills are so automatically there that (I have to remember), ‘She can also punch me and elbow and do a lot here),’” laughed Mesquita.

“It’s totally different!” she said of her approach on the ground in MMA compared to straight jiu-jitsu competitions. “(The transition) has been easy because I have the mindset that I need to learn that part — it’s not just ‘I’m a great jiu-jitsu fighter; I’m gonna do my things;’ I know it’s not like that.

“I think the most important thing is to understand that sometimes you have to give a little space to create the positioning to punch so you can progress more. In the beginning for me, the hardest was releasing the pressure, because I just wanted to go for my passing and mount. Parrumpa was like, ‘Don’t think like jiu-jitsu; there are no points here. Don’t think about passing — get to good positions where you can punch and get your submissions.’ That was something that cleared my vision about the ground game.

“This transition wasn’t hard because I was open-minded, but I changed my jiu-jitsu game a lot.”

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Armed with a continually evolving approach on the ground and heaps of confidence, Mesquita was already excited to experience her first UFC fight week just from hearing how everyone in the gym raves about them. Then she found out her debut was going to take place in her hometown, and the excitement got ratcheted up several notches.

“Signing with the UFC was already so much excitement — it was something I was looking forward to since I changed careers from jiu-jitsu to MMA because everybody looks to be a UFC fighter, and it was no different with me. Signing was already ‘Oh my God – I did it!’ but when I saw that my first fight would be in Rio — my hometown, close to my family, friends, energy — I was like, ‘What?! No way?!’