BY RYAN BEVINS, ON X (FORMERLY TWITTER) @BEVOIS
In the 2000s, women’s MMA had Gina Carano become the “Face of Women’s MMA”. She was the first bona fide women’s star and won the first televised female fight on Showtime in 2007. Since then, she has transitioned into one of the biggest female action stars in Hollywood with acting credits ranging from a role in the first Deadpool movie to a reoccurring role in the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian. When Carano left MMA for the silver screen, she passed the torch to Ronda Rousey in the 2010s. Rousey entered MMA as the most decorated female judoka in American history after becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport in 2008. The charismatic and highly-entertaining Rousey is the person responsible for convincing UFC President Dana White to add women’s divisions to the UFC. Rousey became the first-ever UFC women’s champion when she won the bantamweight title in 2013 and became one of the biggest stars in MMA history. She, like Carano, eventually left the sport for show biz, where she has starred in The Expendables 3, the Fast and the Furious franchise as well as becoming one of the biggest pro wrestling stars in the WWE.
That brings us to the 2020s and has many pundits wondering if Beatriz “Bia” Mesquita could be the the next big thing in women’s MMA. After earning the nickname “BJJ Lady GOAT” by becoming the greatest women’s jiu-jitsu athlete of all time, she recently told LFA.com how she intends to dominate MMA as well. Mesquita beams with confidence and positivity, but has also been backing it up since making the move to MMA last summer. In her first three professional MMA fights, she has secured three submission wins via Rear Naked Choke. That was enough to earn her the fan’s approval during the annual LFA Fans’ Choice Awards making her the “Female Fighter of the Year” in 2024. Now she looks to pick up where she left off with her first fight of 2025 taking place this Thursday, March 6th at the Peal Theatre inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. More impressively, it will be her third LFA fight in just 4 and a half months. Mesquita talked to LFA.com about 2024, her plans for the future, as well as some GOAT Talk.
Get your tickets for LFA 203: Satybaldiev vs. Soares
LFA FANS’ CHOICE AWARDS: FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR (2024)
“I’m really happy about winning the the Female Fighter of the Year in 2024. You know, I was planning to do MMA for a long time and when it finally happened, I was able to prove that I was ready to rock, ready to show why I was transitioning from my jiu-jitsu to an MMA career… starting something new. I’m really happy because it showed me I’m on the right direction. I’m doing what I love and I’m able to make the fans happy and vote on me for the best female fighter of the year. Of course, that’s recognized that putting me out there, moves me forward to what I want next and keep training, keep motivated, and make sure that I’m on the right direction.”
LFA 203: Mesquita vs. Chase
“So for this next fight, I’m facing a 20x Karate world champion. I’m a 10x Jiu-Jitsu world champion and I feel like that I’m able to prove like back in the day, the Gracie family used to fight and face all those other fighters, athletes from different martial arts like Karate or Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, where they were getting out there in the cage, especially Royce Gracie, and they were able to prove that Jiu-Jitsu was better and more efficient than the other martial arts. I feel like I’m just going out there and representing there and I’m gonna go to prove that Jiu-Jitsu is still the best martial art and more efficient than everything else… and more than Karate of course.” *laughs*
MARCH MADNESS: LFA 203, UFC FIGHT PASS INVITATIONAL 10, POWER SLAP 12, AND UFC 313 IN 48 HOURS
“So for this event LFA 203, we’re going to be in Vegas this fighting weekend. You know, like a lot of events. We’re going to have the UFC Fight Pass Invitational for the grappling matches. Then after we’re going to have the LFA on Thursday night. On Friday, you have the Power Slap and then Saturday the big UFC with Alex “Poatan” Pereira putting his belt on the line… you know, CHAMA. *laughs* I feel very lucky to be able to be part of this time over here in Vegas. I feel like Vegas is such a big city for the fighting crew. I was happy to come and be fighting here, because I feel like this environment, the vibes are amazing. Being here one more time, especially on this huge weekend for fighting, the fighting community, and being able to go out there and show my skills is something very important and I’m not going to miss this opportunity to show what I came for or why I’m here… and I’m gonna be here a lot more times.”
GOAT MUSIC
Music is probably the hardest one for me to figure out, because Brazilians are so eclectic. I listen to everything. If you go check out my playlist, you’re gonna see there’s like really everything mixed over there. So I have some Bossa Nova, Brazilian Funk, everything is out there. Mix it together for my workout playlist in my pre-fight playlist. I don’t really have somebody that I really love to listen to. I like to get music that is inspiring to me and talking about how to overcome the difficulty and how especially in Brazil. I feel like a lot of the musicians talk a lot about how they came from the poor part to become somebody to inspire others to go bigger. That’s how I feel like I am. As well as being a fighter, I came from a small city… to go out to the world to show it’s possible to become somebody bigger. I feel like that’s what inspired me most in the music. Mixing between all over like Samba, Bossa Nova, and Funk especially because it’s more fun and more party… but everything. I’m very eclectic. I would say music is the GOAT of everything.”
GOAT ACTOR/ACTRESS
“Right now we have Fernanda Torres, who just won the Golden Globe and was nominated for the Oscar. One of the first Brazilian ladies to be nominated for an Oscar and I think she’s amazing. She does drama, comedy, everything, and that’s why she won.”
GOAT FOOD
“I live eating of course, that’s why I’m so heavy. *laughs* I have a heard time cutting wieght. But yeah, my nutrition Rapha Rodrigues is full of my ear and said, ‘Hey, you need to be an athlete. Focus on it… but I would say of course, Brazilian Churrasco. I love that. Picanha and all the food, Farofa… everything is so amazing. If you guys never tried it, go for Brazilian Barbecue.”
GOAT VACATION
“Anywhere that is hot, sunny, and beach. *laughs* So overall, pretty much, I love Miami, I love San Diego, and I love Brazil of course. Pretty much anything that is hot, sunny, and beach… and I’m happy.”
GOAT FASHION
“I would say I love a lot of brands of course, especially the one that sponsor me and are with me, but if I can go out there and choose one, it would be Louis Vuitton… so Louis Vuitton, if you’re ready to sponsor a fighter, I’m ready to go to you’re Fashion Week!” *laughs*
GOAT SUPERPOWER
“I have thought about this before and if I can have a a superpower it would be healing. I would love to be able to heal people if they were hurt or something happened… especially myself, because I’m always broke after training. *laughs* But I feel like healing is something very special because you can make people live longer, so if I could have a superpower it would be healing and just touch and just touch and “poof”… heal everybody.”
GOAT JIU-JITSU
“For GOAT of Jiu-Jitsu of course I’m gonna first of all go with my coach Letty Ribeiro. She’s the one that most inspired me and taught me how to get there to be a GOAT… and then man, there’s so many. All of the Gracie family, I love everything they have done for us to be here. I feel like they opened the doors for making Jiu-Jitsu so big and so recognized in the world. Wherever I go, I say I train. My background is from the Gracie family and I’m very welcome no matter where. So of course the whole Gracie family has my respect and my love for being the GOAT of Jiu-Jitsu.”
GOAT JUDO
“I did Judo when I was a kid and I feel like Kayla Harrison is the GOAT for Judo. I do say that not because I know from her Judo background before I met her during her MMA career, but because she throws me around every position in training. *laughs* Her Judo throws are just phenomenal. The transitions she has are just so amazing that I could tell she is the GOAT not just for her accomplishments as a two-time Olympic gold medalist and soon the UFC champion, but because she does that to me every day in training. *laughs*
GOAT WRESTLING
“Now for GOAT Wrestling of course I’m going to go for my coaches. First of all, my coach Steve Mocco. Man, that foot trip he has is like so fantastic. Everything he teaches me daily in class. I’ve been doing a lot of privates with him and he has an answer for every single question I have and it’s always has like five answers for one of my questions. It’s just fantastic being able to learn from him. So for me, he’s the Wrestling GOAT… and of course, King Mo. That guy is incredible. The way he just makes everything simple. ‘Hey no Bia, if you’re having trouble with this, oh just do it this way”… and then like he fixes everything. I’m like ‘wow’. Like why can I not think about that before? He males everything so clean and easy. So for me, those two. I’m lucky to have them as coaches at home.”
GOAT SWIMMING
“I swam when I was a kid too. When it comes to swimming the first name that comes to mind is Michael Phelps and there is no way to say any other names. I cannot even think about someone else. He’s the man.”
GOAT MMA
“I feel like Amanda Nunes opened a lot of doors for the woman community. She did what nobody had done before. She has two UFC belts. She did everything that she had to do over there and then she retired as a champion. So for me, she did amazing. She opened a lot of opportunities like me and all the other girls coming next… and of course, Jon Jones. He’s unbelievable. I wish I was as good as him… maybe like 1%.” *laughs*
GOAT RIVALRY
“There are so many that come to my mind, but the one that I could really watch was my professor Letty Ribeiro against Bianca Barreto in Jiu-Jitsu. She was a Brazilian from Gracie Barra and they fought so many times and I remember when I was blue and purple belt watching them fight in the finals and semi-finals, they would always face each other. It’s incredible because it would always be such a close and entertaining fight, that I could never forget about it. I think that was a big one that not a lot of people know about. There are so many great rivalries, but for myself one of the girls I fought the most in Jiu-Jitsu was Luiza Monteiro. She was the one I fought since I was a purple belt all the way to my last world title at black belt that was against her in the finals when I won my tenth world title at black belt. I faced her and it was a huge battle back-and-forth. I feel like the one I fought Luisa the most and she was one of the biggest rivals I had.
GOAT QUOTE
“The GOAT quote for me that inspires me a lot is your determination and your focus is going to bring you to whatever you dream about to be. So make sure you are going to be determined, because you are not going to be motivated every day. So be disciplined to make sure that your focus is on point to achieve all your dreams and make them come true.”
GOAT INSPIRATION
“First of all, it’s my parents. They have been so amazing. I am here today because of them. They did everything… to believe in me since I was 5-years-old to where I am today. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to achieve that. They were always supporting me, motivating me, and teaching me how to believe in myself. How to be strong, how to be disciplined, and of course my GOAT inspiration is my parents that did everything to help me achieve my goals. They are the best.”
Watch LFA 203: Satybaldiev vs. Soares
You can watch Bia “BJJ Lady GOAT” Mesquita face “Hurricane” Hope Chase on the main card of LFA 203 this Thursday, March 6th. This will be the second LFA event to take place in the state of Nevada. LFA 203 will emanate live from the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and will be available to watch worldwide. The Preliminary Card will be available on YouTube and the LFA Fight Network and starts around 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT. The Main Card airs LIVE on UFC Fight Pass at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT.
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About LFA:
LFA is a professional Mixed Martial Arts promotion that was formed by the powerhouse merger between RFA and Legacy FC in 2017. It has launched the careers of over 330 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC. LFA presents live Mixed Martial Arts events on a monthly basis around the world including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Based in Las Vegas, NV, LFA is one of the most active and respected MMA organizations in the fastest growing sport in the world. The promotion owns and operates LFA FIGHT NETWORK™, a premium YouTube channel that features live combat sports events alongside live LFA Prelims and historical fights.
Please visit LFA.com for updates and information. Visit the official LFA YouTube channel (LFA FIGHT NETWORK™) at @LFAfights. LFA is on Facebook at Facebook.com/LFAfighting. LFA is also on Instagram at @LFAfighting and X (formerly Twitter) at @LFAfighting.
About UFC FIGHT PASS®:
UFC FIGHT PASS® is the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. Since launching in 2013, UFC FIGHT PASS is now available in more than 200 countries and territories. FIGHT PASS provides its members with unlimited access to live UFC FIGHT PASS Prelims; live mixed martial arts and combat sports from around the world; original series and historical programming; special features; behind-the-scenes content; in-depth interviews; and up-to-the minute reports on the world of combat sports. UFC FIGHT PASS subscribers also have 24/7 access to the world’s largest fight library, featuring more than 20,000 bouts from dozens of combats sports organizations, as well as every fight in UFC history. Fight fans can access UFC FIGHT PASS on personal computers, iOS and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, LG Smart TVs, and Sony TVs with Android TV. For more information, please visit UFCFightPass.com.
About PALMS CASINO RESORT:
Palms Casino Resort is making history as the first resort in Las Vegas fully owned and operated by a Native American Tribe. Palms Casino Resort features two distinct towers with 766 hotel rooms and suites, a diverse mix of bars, restaurants, live entertainment venues, and immersive lifestyle experiences across a 95,000-square-foot reimagined casino. Offering free valet and self-parking, the resort also includes over 190,000 square feet of meeting, convention, and event space; the Pearl, a 2,500-seat theater; an expansive pool, The Spa & Salon at Palms; a wedding chapel; the Brenden Theatre 14-screen cinema and nearly 600 units at Palms Place condominiums. Palms is located just west of the center of the Las Vegas Strip off I-15 at 4321 West Flamingo Road. Palms Casino Resort is owned by The San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority (“SMGHA”) an affiliate of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. For more information visit Palms.com or the Palms Press Room. Follow Palms on social media Facebook, X, and Instagram.
