Talita Alencar just made her debut at UFC On ESPN+ 91 on December 9th, 2023 and she managed to win her first fight for the promotion by split decision. She is one of the most prolific and successful BJJ competitors in the lighter weight classes, having won three IBJJF No Gi World Championship gold medals and a fourth title in the gi as well. She won several other major events throughout the course of her career, but she decided to change things up and make the transition to MMA late in her athletic career. She made her professional MMA debut at Titan FC 70 in 2021 and she finished the fight quickly, submitting her opponent after just a few minutes of action in the first round.
Alencar continued her winning ways on the regional MMA circuit over the next two years and managed to build up a solid 4-0 record while still competing as a grappler as well. That was when she first came to the attention of the matchmakers at the UFC and they gave her an opportunity to compete for a contract with the promotion on an episode of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023. Alencar put everything she had into that fight with Stephanie Luciano and it ended in an incredibly rare outcome for three-round MMA fights, as the two women fought to a draw.
Luciano received a UFC contract for her efforts but Alencar was not so fortunate, and it appeared as though her journey to the promotion might have come to an end earlier than she had planned. She was then called up to make her UFC debut against Rayanne Dos Santos at UFC On ESPN+ 91 and although she didn’t have much time to prepare, she was eager to take on the biggest challenge of her MMA career so far. Dos Santos had a 14-6 professional MMA record and was a former Invicta FC atomweight world champion, so she had plenty of experience and had already racked up 8 submission wins of her own.
Talita Alencar had some difficulty in the first round of her UFC debut, as she struggled to finish takedowns and ate some heavy shots from Dos Santos. Her persistence paid off in the second round though, as Alencar was finally able to get the fight to the ground and land some heavy shots along with the threat of a submission. The final round was fairly even with both women trading blows regularly, and it really could have gone either way. Two judges gave it to Alencar though and she won the fight by split decision as a result, getting her UFC career off to a good start.
