Women's MMA prospect Alexis Dufresne has first-hand knowledge of a Ronda Rousey armbar
Alexis Dufresne was a teenager and still a white belt when she entered into one of her first grappling tournaments. Her first match didn’t go quite as expected -- she was completely dominated.
"We bowed, shook hands and I was flipped on my ass and armbared quicker than I ever knew what was going on," Dufresne recalled to FOX Sports.
When she came off the mat, her coach was laughing. Dufresne was puzzled by his lack of empathy.
"Don't you know who that was?" he asked her.
Dufresne had no clue at the time. But she knows very well now. Her opponent that day was Ronda Rousey, just after she won the Olympic bronze medal in judo and well before she became the face of women's MMA.
Instead of letting that butt whooping turn her off, Dufresne actually became more motivated.
"It was after that fight that sparked an interest," Dufresne said. "I was like, 'Man, she beat my ass quickly.' I wanted to learn more."
Now, Dufresne is the latest women's fighter signed by the UFC and once again in the same division as Rousey, the champion at 135 pounds. She'll meet Ultimate Fighter alum Sarah Moras at the TUF 19 Finale on July 6 in Las Vegas.
Dufresne's grappling career took off after that Rousey match. She's a five-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) world champion and a four-time IBJJF Pan-American champion. In MMA, she's 5-0 despite only really training in more than BJJ her last two fights.
Dufresne, 23, has been Rousey-like, finishing all of her opponents in the first round. Most recently, she beat Kim Couture by TKO with ground and pound in just 45 seconds. She is a pretty serious prospect out of Dan Henderson's Team Quest gym in Temecula, Calif.
"She has amazing BJJ and she hits very hard," said Ricardo Feliciano, her and Henderson's BJJ coach. "That's why she will do great in the UFC. She will compete with the best and show the world."
Mostly, though, she's just happy to have a steady flow of opponents. In local shows, she had potential foes pull out on the day of weigh-ins four straight times. That's why she only has five fights since going pro in 2012.
"You have a camp set up, you train, work hard, family comes down, people spend money to see you," Dufresne said. "It's kind of a sucky feeling."
She won't have to worry about that anymore. Dufresne will get thrown in against Moras, a very good grappler in her own right also making her UFC debut.
Though the women's bantamweight division is in flux and making it to the top would only take two or three impressive wins, Dufresne doesn’t really buy into the whole prospect tag. She's willing to wade in slowly and won't call out Rousey, who is something of an idol to her.
"Rousey is the reason I got into MMA," Dufresne said. "She's awesome."
And while she isn't a big fan of trash-talking herself, Dufresne has no problem with anything Rousey does.
"I respect the fact that Rousey doesn’t put on a fake face for the camera," she said. "She stays true to how she feels. … I definitely like her attitude. She's hardheaded, stubborn and doesn’t take any s*** from anybody. I like that."
The reality is, though, Dufresne could be fighting the champ at some point down the road. She thinks she'll last a lot longer if that were to happen again.
"If I get the opportunity to fight her, that would be awesome," Dufresne said. "I'm definitely a lot more prepared this time. I have a lot more knowledge."
