Alexa Grasso tops Viviane Araujo by decision at UFC Fight Night

Alexa Grasso showed on Saturday she’s fully settled as a flyweight, winning her fourth match in a row since being promoted from straw class two years ago. Her conquest in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas came from a unanimous decision against a top 10 contender in the 125-pound division, Viviane Araujo.

Grasso (15-3), 29 years old from Mexico, built a significant yield advantage over the five rounds. But her best results are probably in defensive wrestling – stuffing 8 of Araujo’s 10 takedowns. That kept the fight normal in all but two minutes in round 2, keeping Grasso busy with punches and kicks. She landed 193 hits before Araujo’s hit 148.

Neither woman got the other in serious trouble, but Grasso led the dance by mostly keeping the duel at a distance where she could make the best use of her standing skills. All three judges scored the main event her way, with cards 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 respectively. But it is not an escape.

“She’s a tough fighter,” Grasso said of Araujo (11-4), the 33-year-old Brazilian boxer who is ninth in ESPN’s women’s flyweight rankings. “She’s a tough opponent, as you can see.”

Among the 125-pound athletes, only the champion Valentina Shevchenko has a longer winning streak than Grasso ranked eighth. But Grasso’s time with the tournament’s second-longest streak is likely to be short-lived, as the other two flyweight contenders in the top 10 have a four-game winning streak, Katlyn Chookagian and Manon Fiorotare expected to meet next weekend at UFC 280.

Saturday’s bout at UFC Apex was scheduled to feature the second of the top 10 flyweight divisions – in the men’s 125-pound division. But Askar Askarovwho was ranked eighth by ESPN, was eliminated from his duel with 9th place Brandon Royval on Friday because of what the UFC calls “weight management issues.”