Alesha Zappitella

Alesha Zappitella is an American mixed martial artist who fights in the Atomweight division of Invicta Fighting Championships, where she is a former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion.

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Background

Growing up in Ohio, Alesha started wrestling – as the sole girl in boys' team – at the age of five. She also played softball, but quit it after her coach advised her to drop wrestling in order to focus in the "girl sport" which would get her somewhere. She went on to become a two-time Ohio state champion in girls wrestling, five-time All-American before eventually placing sixth in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Mixed martial arts career

Invicta

Early Invicta career

Zappitella made her professional debut against Jayme Hinshaw at KOTC Equalizer on 15 October 2016. She won the fight by unanimous decision. She would go on to amass a 3–0 record, with a single no-contest, which earned her the notice of Invicta Fighting Championships. Invicta scheduled her debut against Shino VanHoose at Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander. VanHoose later withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Jillian DeCoursey. Zappitella won the bout by unanimous decision.
Zappitella was scheduled to fight Amber Brown at Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II. She won the fight by unanimous decision.
Zappitella was scheduled to fight Viviane Pereira at Invicta FC 35: Bennett vs. Rodriguez II. Pereira missed the scales, weighing in 0.6 lbs over the atomweight limit. Zappitella lost for the first time in her professional career, as Pereira won the fight by unanimous decision.
Following her first loss, Zappitella briefly left Invicta, being scheduled to fight Kanna Asakura at RIZIN 18. Asakura won the fight by split decision.
Returning to Invicta, Zappitella was scheduled to fight Kelly D'Angelo at Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II. Zappitella snapped her two-fight losing streak, winning the bout by unanimous decision.
Zappitella was scheduled to fight Lindsey VanZandt at Invicta FC 40: Ducote vs. Lima. Zappitella won the fight by split decision. The majority of media members scored the fight for Zappitella.

Invicta Atomweight title reign

Zappitella was scheduled to fight Ashley Cummins at Invicta FC 42: Cummins vs. Zappitella for the vacant Invicta FC Atomweight Championship. Cummins was the more dominant party throughout the first two rounds, winning the majority of striking exchanges and stopping Zappitella's takedowns. In the first minute of the third round, Zappitella managed to land an early takedown and countered Cummins' guillotine choke attempt with a Von Flue choke. It was the first Von Flue choke finish in Invicta FC history.
Zappitella made her first title defense against Jéssica Delboni at Invicta 44: Rodríguez vs. Torquato on May 21, 2021. She won the bout by a razor close split decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 48–47 in Zappitella's favor, while the third judge scored it 48–47 in Delboni's favor. All of the media members scored the fight for Delboni.
Zappitella rematched Jéssica Delboni on January 12, 2022, at Invicta FC 45. She lost the bout and the title via unanimous decision, with scores of 50–45, 50–45 and 49–46.

Move to strawweight

Moving up to Strawweight, Zappitella faced Emily Ducote for the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship on May 11, 2022, at Invicta FC 47. She lost the bout after doctors stopped the bout after the second round due to a cut on her eyelid.

Personal life

Zappitella works as a paraprofessional educator in the Howell Public Schools district. Zappitella also works as a women's self defense coach at the Michigan Institute of Athletics.
She is a fan and avid player of the collectible strategy card game Magic: The Gathering.