Alesha Zappitella (born February 28, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to the Invicta Fighting Championships, where she is a former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion.

Background

Growing up in Ohio, Alesha started wrestling – as the sole girl in boys' team – at the age of five. She also played softball, but quit it after her coach advised her to drop wrestling in order to focus in the "girl sport" which would get her somewhere. She went on to become a two-time Ohio state champion in girls wrestling, five-time All-American before eventually placing sixth in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Mixed martial arts career

Invicta

Early Invicta career

Zappitella made her professional debut against Jayme Hinshaw at KOTC Equalizer on 15 October 2016. She won the fight by unanimous decision. She would go on to amass a 3–0 record, with a single no-contest, which earned her the notice of Invicta Fighting Championships. Invicta scheduled her debut against Shino VanHoose at Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander. VanHoose later withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Jillian DeCoursey. Zappitella won the bout by unanimous decision. Zappitella was scheduled to fight

Amber Brown ''Amber Brown'' is a series of realistic fiction books for children created and originally written by Paula Danziger; later written by Elizabeth Levy and Bruce Coville. Early editions are illustrated by Tony Ross and later by Anthony Lewis. Th ...

at Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Zappitella was scheduled to fight

Viviane Pereira Viviane "Sucuri' Pereira (born August 8, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and competes in strawweight division. She last competed for Invicta Fighting Championships. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pereira has also fought ...

at Invicta FC 35: Bennett vs. Rodriguez II. Pereira missed the scales, weighing in 0.6 lbs over the atomweight limit. Zappitella lost for the first time in her professional career, as Pereira won the fight by unanimous decision. Following her first loss, Zappitella briefly left Invicta, being scheduled to fight Kanna Asakura at RIZIN 18. Asakura won the fight by split decision. Returning to Invicta, Zappitella was scheduled to fight Kelly D'Angelo at Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II. Zappitella snapped her two-fight losing streak, winning the bout by unanimous decision. Zappitella was scheduled to fight Lindsey VanZandt at Invicta FC 40: Ducote vs. Lima. Zappitella won the fight by split decision (28-29, 29–27, 30–27). The majority of media members scored the fight for Zappitella.

Invicta Atomweight title reign

Zappitella was scheduled to fight Ashley Cummins at Invicta FC 42: Cummins vs. Zappitella for the vacant Invicta FC Atomweight Championship. Cummins was the more dominant party throughout the first two rounds, winning the majority of striking exchanges and stopping Zappitella's takedowns. In the first minute of the third round, Zappitella managed to land an early takedown and countered Cummins' guillotine choke attempt with a Von Flue choke. It was the first Von Flue choke finish in Invicta FC history. Zappitella made her first title defense against Jéssica Delboni at Invicta 44: Rodríguez vs. Torquato on May 21, 2021. She won the bout by a razor close split decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 48–47 in Zappitella's favor, while the third judge scored it 48–47 in Delboni's favor. All of the media members scored the fight for Delboni. Zappitella rematched Jéssica Delboni on January 12, 2022, at Invicta FC 45. She lost the bout and the title via unanimous decision, with scores of 50–45, 50–45 and 49–46.

Move to strawweight

Moving up to Strawweight, Zappitella faced Emily Ducote for the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship on May 11, 2022, at Invicta FC 47. She lost the bout after doctors stopped the bout after the second round due to a cut on her eyelid.

Personal life

Zappitella works as a

paraprofessional educator A paraprofessional educator, alternatively known as a paraeducator, para-pro, instructional assistant, educational assistant, teacher's aide or classroom assistant, is a teaching-related position within a school generally responsible for specializ ...

in the Howell Public Schools district. Zappitella also works as a women's self defense coach at the Michigan Institute of Athletics. She is a fan and avid player of the collectible strategy card game Magic: The Gathering.

Championships and accomplishments

Wrestling

* 2012 Vaughn Cadet National Championships Freestyle 105 lbs 3rd Place * 2013 Vaughn Cadet National Championships Freestyle 105 lbs 5th Place * 2016 USA Olympic Trials Freestyle 105 lbs Qualifier

Mixed Martial Arts

* Invicta Fighting Championships ** Invicta FC Atomweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense **Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Jillian DeCoursey,

and Ashley Cummins

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 (1) , Emily Ducote , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Invicta FC 47: Ducote vs. Zappitella , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 (1) , Jéssica Delboni , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 45: Zappitella vs. Delboni II , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 (1) , Jéssica Delboni , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 44: Rodríguez vs. Torquato , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 (1) , Ashley Cummins , Submission (Von Flue choke) , Invicta FC 42: Cummins vs. Zappitella , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 (1) , Lindsey VanZandt , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 40: Ducote vs. Lima , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 (1) , Kelly D'Angelo , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 (1) , Kanna Asakura , Decision (split) , RIZIN 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Nagoya, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 35: Bennett vs. Rodriguez II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , Catchweight (106.7 lbs) bout, Pereira missed weight. , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States , Performance of the Night. , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 (1) , Jillian DeCoursey , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , Performance of the Night. , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 (1) , Kyna Sisson , Decision (split) , WXC 71: Night of Champions 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Southgate, Michigan, United States , Strawweight bout. , - , NC , align=center, 2–0 (1) , Stephanie Alba , No Contest (overturned) , Combate 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Tucson, Arizona, United States , Decision win for Zappitella overturned due to testing positive for marijuana , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Miao Ding , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Kunlun Fight MMA 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:17 , Sanya, China , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jayme Hinshaw , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC Equalizer , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2–1 , Jessica Ertl , Submission (Keylock) , NAFC: Super Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 , Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–2–1 , Tiffany Masters , Draw (Decision) , KOTC: Bitter Enemies , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Keshena, Wisconsin, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Cynthia Arceo , TKO (Punches) , KOTC: Warriors , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:09 , Socorro, Texas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Kyna Sisson , Submission (Triangle choke) , WXC 56: College Throwdown , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 , Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States , For the WXC Amateur Strawweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Elane Santiago , Decision (Unanimous) , WXC 54: Night of Champions 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Southgate, Michigan, United States , , -

References

External links

*
Alesha Zappitella
at Invicta Fighting Championships * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zappitella, Alesha 1993 births Living people Atomweight mixed martial artists American female mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners People from Conneaut, Ohio Sportspeople from Ohio 21st-century American women