Alice Pereira picked up her second straight knockout finish at UFC Vegas 122 on Saturday. She did it with a slicing elbow late in Round 1 that left Daria Zhelezniakova with a forehead gash big enough to empty a cutman’s kit. The women’s bantamweight bout at Meta APEX in Las Vegas went down as a TKO (retirement) at 5:00 of Round 1. Zhelezniakova survived to the horn, her corner worked on the cut, and referee Jason Herzog asked her before Round 2 whether she wanted to continue. According to MMA Junkie, she told him no.
The finish came out of grappling more than striking. MMA Mania noted that Pereira usually likes a high pace and long-range work, but a big takedown put her on top early and she was happy to stay there and throw heavy ground-and-pound. Zhelezniakova had few answers off her back, which gave Pereira all the time she needed to set up the elbow. By the end of the round, MMA Mania wrote, there was blood all over the cage.
The close-up of the cut spread fast online. Ariel Helwani posted on X that he had watched the fight with his kids, and they reacted to the wound by asking him why he watches this stuff at all. LowKickMMA’s headline on the fight collected fans applauding the performance and warning that Pereira is going to be a problem for the division.
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Where Both Fighters Stand
Pereira (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is from Brazil and is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster. She turns 21 in December. Zhelezniakova (10-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC), from Russia, drops to a losing record inside the Octagon.
After the win, Pereira told Michael Bisping that the fight went to plan. Speaking through an interpreter, she then answered critics of a women’s 135-pound division that MMA Junkie says is down to 24 active fighters, the lowest of any UFC division, insisting that bantamweight is alive and well. No next opponent was mentioned in the coverage. With a roster that thin, though, a 20-year-old with two straight finishes doesn’t have to wait long for a step up in competition.
On the same card, Ernesta Kareckaite and Melissa Gatto fought to a majority draw on scores of 29-27, 28-28 and 28-28. That spread will have people squinting at the judges for a while.
Quick Take
The part I like best is the takedown. Pereira is supposed to be a long-range pressure striker. She saw an opponent who looked uncomfortable underneath, took the fight there, and stayed patient on top until the elbow opened things up late in the round. That kind of read separates prospects who win from prospects who keep winning. I don’t hold the retirement against Zhelezniakova either. Fighting four more minutes blind with that cut would have meant a beating, with a doctor’s stoppage waiting at the end of it. Pereira still has a lot to build before December’s birthday cake, but she’s already making her claim about the division’s health easier to believe.
