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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson and Ken Hathaway

Talita Alencar wants to stay busy after she took ‘zero damage’ from Vanessa Demopoulos at UFC on ESPN 65

LAS VEGAS – Talita Alencar beat Vanessa Demopoulos with a unanimous decision Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN 65 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Alencar, who got back in the win column after the first loss of her pro career in a rematch with Stephanie Luciano this past August.

Talita Alencar def. Vanessa Demopoulos

Result: Talita Alencar def. Vanessa Demopoulos via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Updated records: Alencar (6-1-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), Demopoulos (11-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC)
Key stats: Alencar had four takedowns that led to more than 12 minutes of ground control time.

Alencar on the fight’s key moment

“Definitely, you can see I improved my striking. I definitely got better in every area. I was happy I was able to dance around a little bit with my hands. We almost got the knockout there with one of the combos we were training the whole camp. I should have believed in (my striking) a little more.”

Alencar on being ready for anything

“But I’m training to be in the UFC, not training for a specific opponent. I’ll study the opponent in the time that’s necessary. But we’re training to get hard fights because we know this division is packed.”

Alencar on what she wants next

“I’m definitely going to take one week off. … I’m here, and the UFC can call me. I told my manager I have zero damage right now and I already have a license for the state of Nevada: Come on, guys. (I want to fight) at least three times this year, so two more. It would be amazing to fight in Brazil. It would be amazing to fight in Florida – it’s local. But I’m down for anything. Definitely, Brazil is one of the places I’d like to fight this year. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Brazil – like five years. I need to see my family … The last time I’ve been there was befor eCOVID, and I really miss my family.”

To hear more from Alencar, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 65.

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