Summary
Talita promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
The first fight of UFC Vegas 116 pitted two Brazilians against each other, with Talita Alencar defeating Julia Polastri by unanimous decision of the judges, in a duel valid for the strawweight division (up to 52,1 kg) on Saturday night (25). With the result, the Maranhão native reached her third consecutive fight without losing in the biggest MMA organization in the world, while her opponent suffered her second defeat in the last three fights.
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Talita Alencar was very aggressive while standing.
Talita Alencar celebrating her victory at UFC Vegas 116. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram.
The two fighters began the fight at a measured pace, studying each other and looking for ways to force their opponent into making mistakes. Talita, being shorter, attempted to attack with jabs and front kicks, while Julia frustrated her rival's approach with kicks to the midsection and left crosses. Alencar became more aggressive as time went on, launching long combinations of punches, most of which were evaded by her opponent. After creating concern on the feet, Talita secured a takedown in the final minute of the round, transitioning to the 100 kg position and finishing the first round with an advantage.
Alencar continued to be very aggressive in the striking exchanges during the second round, while Polastri tried to dodge and impose her game with accurate jabs . Smiling and sensing the rhythm of the fight changing, Julia dominated the center of the octagon and incorporated good kicks to the body with her jabs , in addition to calmly defending her opponent's first takedown attempt. After being hit by some hard blows, Talita managed another takedown with a single-leg takedown, landing in her rival's half-guard. She spent the last seconds of the round working punches and elbows.
Confident, Talita attacked with a spinning backfist at the beginning of the third round, which Polastri defended. Polastri then moved forward and threw powerful punches with her lead hand, aware of the need to finish the fight. Despite landing good counter-punches and showing good movement, she didn't manage to stun her opponent. Alencar connected with a good jab-straight combination at the end of the round, her best strike in the final stage. In the last exchange of blows of the fight, Talita had the advantage by landing good crosses to her opponent's chin.
At the end of the 15-minute intense confrontation, all the judges scored 29 to 28 in favor of Talita.
29-28 on all scorecards 💪 @TalitaAlencarbj earns the UD victory at #UFCVegas116!
[LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/LiDOzll4Bn
— UFC (@ufc) April 25, 2026
Chilean wins for the first time against veteran.
In the second fight of the night, Victor Valenzuela secured his first UFC victory by defeating veteran Max Griffin via unanimous decision in a welterweight bout (up to 77,1 kg). During his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier inside the octagon, the Chilean dedicated his triumph to his grandmother, who recently passed away, in a very emotional speech.
More experienced, Griffin showed himself to be more aggressive, dominating the center of the octagon and attacking with strong combinations of punches. On the other hand, Valenzuela seemed more comfortable on his feet, connecting with greater precision. Confident, he almost landed a good spinning backfist in the second round, but ended up being taken down by the veteran and controlled against the cage for a few moments. With more intensity, the Chilean fared better during the close-range exchanges.
In the third round, Griffin managed to take the fight to the ground, but struggled to control his opponent there. More tired, the American was cornered against the cage by an intense Chilean, who was unfazed by cuts to his face and showed a great sense of urgency to finish the fight with good combinations at mid-range, as well as knees and elbows in the clinch.
After the conclusion of the three rounds, Valenzuela was declared the winner, with all judges scoring 29 to 28 in his favor.
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