Alesha Zappitella (born February 28, 1995) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who fights in the

Atomweight Atomweight (also referred to as light minimumweight, junior strawweight, junior mini-flyweight and pinweight) is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In women's boxing and junior amateur boxing pinweight is, or has been, a weight class for boxe ...

division of

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

, 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 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. The ...

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. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pereira has also fough ...

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 Kanna Asakura (); born October 12, 1997, in Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, is a female Japanese retired mixed martial artist. She competed in the Atomweight (106 lb) division and completed with the Rizin Fighting Federation. She is the #6 ranked At ...

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 A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza () is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1999). Oxford University press. . or blood (str ...

. It was the first Von Flue choke finish in Invicta FC history. Zappitella made her first title defense against

Jéssica Delboni Jéssica Correa Delboni (born 7 September 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the atomweight and strawweight divisions of Invicta FC, where she is a former Atomweight champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career ...

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

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, instructional assistant, educational assistant, teacher's aide or classroom assistant, is a teaching-related position within a school generally responsible for specialized or ...

in the

Howell Howell may refer to: Places In the United States * Howell, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Howell, Evansville, a neighborhood in Indiana * Howell, Michigan, a city in Livingston County * Howell County, Missouri * Howell, Missouri, a ...

Public Schools district. Zappitella also works as a women's

self defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in tim ...

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 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 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous 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 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 (1) ,

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Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

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Southgate, Michigan Southgate is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. The population was 30,047 at the 2020 census. Southgate was incorporated as a city on October 8, 1958, which was one of the last remaining portions of the now-defunct Ecorse Townshi ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ding Miao , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Kunlun Fight MMA 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:17 ,

Sanya Sanya; Chinese postal romanization, also spelled Samah is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan, Hainan Province in Southeast China, South China. According to the Sixth National Populati ...

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Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin The Town of Lac du Flambeau is located in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,004 at the 2000 census. The land base of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is located within the town and also consists of a ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2–1 , Jessica Ertl , Submission (Keylock) , NAFC: Super Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River adjacent to th ...

, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–2–1 , Tiffany Masters , Draw (Decision) , KOTC: Bitter Enemies , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Cynthia Arceo , TKO (Punches) , KOTC: Warriors , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:09 ,

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Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

, 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 ,

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References

External links

*
Alesha Zappitella
at

* {{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 female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners People from Conneaut, Ohio Sportspeople from Ashtabula County, Ohio Sportspeople from Ohio 21st-century American sportswomen