Was first career loss actually a good thing for UFC co-headliner Alexa Grasso?

MEXICO CITY – MMA is full of fighter cliches, but in the case of young prospect Alexa Grasso, they can also be true.

Yes, losing your first MMA fight can be a good thing. To some extent, anyway.

In February Grasso suffered the first defeat of her five-year pro career when she dropped a unanimous decision to Felice Herrig at UFC Fight Night 104. Now, Grasso (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) looks to rebound when she meets fellow strawweight Randa Markos (7-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Night 114 co-headliner.

UFC Fight Night 114 takes place at Mexico City Arena in Mexico, and the card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Grasso, a 23-year-old Mexican fighter, gets to fight her home country – and she does so with a little less pressure now that her record is no longer unblemished.

“(To) some point, yes (there’s less pressure),” she told MMAjunkie. “In my last fight, I had a lot of pressure – a lot, a lot, a lot. … There was huge hype behind me, and I was like, ‘Damn.’

“I had to do it perfect, and I was very stressed in my training, and I was really stressed. … I was just obsessive in a bad way – train, train, train.”

Although she thought she maybe deserved the win against Herrig, she’s now feeling much more at ease ahead of her co-headlining opportunity.

“I feel relaxed now,” said Grasso, who’s a modest favorite heading into the fight with Markos. “I’m very happy to fight here in my country, and I don’t care – now it’s not about ‘I have to win all the time, all the time.’

“I just want to give my best, and that I know that giving my best will give me the win.”

Check out the full interview above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 114, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.