Bellator has signed judo ace Irina Alekseeva, who is also known as the “Russian Ronda,” to a new contract according to her management team.
Brian Butler-Au of SuckerPunch Entertainment recently announced that Alekseeva will be taking her talents to Bellator. Check out the official announcement from Butler-Au below.
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Alekseeva (3-1) is a 30-year-old women’s flyweight fighter out of Russia who comes from a judo background, leading to her “Russian Ronda” nickname. Of course, Alekseeva hasn’t come close to experiencing the level of success that her namesake achieved in mixed martial arts, as of yet anyway. She only made her professional MMA debut in March 2019, quickly racking up three wins, including two stoppages, between March and May of last year. In December 2019, Alkseeva lost a unanimous decision to Liliya Kazak in ProFC.
Bellator president Scott Coker and matchmakers Rich Chou continue to make moves to improve the organization’s roster. Although Alekseeva is not a proven MMA fighter by any means, she appears to have a lot of potential in the sport and will have every opportunity to succeed in Bellator, which has an emerging women’s flyweight division. Juliana Velasquez recently defeated Ilima-Lei MacFarlane to win the 125lbs belt, and the organization has suggested that a women’s 125lbs tournament could take place in 2021.
Alekseeva joins a number of other recent free-agent additions to the Bellator roster in recent weeks including Anthony Johnson and Yoel Romero. Of course, the young Russian doesn’t have close to the same amount of name-value that some of these other stars that Bellator has signed in recent weeks, but she seems like a solid addition to Bellator regardless. Look for Bellator to try and get Alekseeva booked for a fight in the first or in the second quarter of 2021 as the promotion looks to set its schedule for the new year.
How do you think Irina Alekseeva will fare competing in Bellator?