Bia Mesquita calls for Ailin Perez Fight: “Not just football” for Brazil-Argentina rivalry
Bia Mesquita wasted little time turning a comeback win into her next campaign message. Days after submitting Melissa Mullins with a first-round armbar at UFC Vegas 119, the unbeaten Brazilian used her post-fight interview with The Schmo to call for a matchup with Argentina’s Ailin Perez, framing it as a sporting rivalry that could sell itself on country pride and a clash of grappling styles.
Bia Mesquita eyes Ailin Perez for Brazil-Argentina rivalry
Mesquita’s latest result gave her another fast finish and kept her undefeated run moving at bantamweight with the finish at 3:16 of Round 1. That sequence fits the profile Mesquita has been building in MMA, where her high-level jiu-jitsu keeps creating submission openings even when exchanges get messy.
In the interview, Mesquita made clear that the win was part of a bigger push rather than a stopping point. “I’m very happy. It was another great performance, another first-round finish. I’m just happy with the victory and with the progress I’ve been making in each camp,” Mesquita said. She added that the fight was “just another step toward my goal, which is to become champion of this weight division,” while stressing that each training camp has shown her new layers in her game.
When asked about Perez, Mesquita did not hide what bothers her about the Argentine contender’s in-cage celebrations. “Yeah, I don’t like that. I think that’s very disrespectful. I don’t like that at all,” Mesquita said. She then turned the matchup into a rivalry pitch, saying Brazil and Argentina are major rivals and that fans would want to see “another Brazil vs. Argentina rivalry, not just football.”
It was a smart angle because the sports rivalry already has history well beyond soccer. LFA promoted a 2025 title fight between Brazil’s Vinicius Pires and Argentina’s Lionel Abojer as another chapter in South America’s famous Brazil-Argentina rivalry, and the promotion had already staged its “Brazil vs. Latin America” event format in the region. Mesquita is trying to tap into that same energy inside the UFC.
Mesquita told The Schmo that Perez “likes grappling” but added, “I don’t think she’s a great grappler, so I’m ready to go in there and finish her.” UFC’s athlete profile lists Perez as a pressure fighter whose favorite grappling approach is ground-and-pound, and past coverage noted her record-setting 10-takedown performance against Ashlee Evans-Smith in 2023.
An unbeaten Brazilian prospect, ranked Argentine target, grappling-on-grappling threat, and a built-in national rivalry that needs very little explaining.
