It’s been over 21 months since UFC flyweight Mariya Agapova competed in the Octagon.
In September of 2022, Agapova suffered her second-consecutive submission loss. After a strong 8-1 start to her professional mixed martial arts career, with her only defeat in that span coming against Tracy Cortez, who headlines Saturday night’s event against former champion Rose Namajunas, Agapova knew something needed to change.
At first, it was her training regimen. After suffering back-to-back submission losses, both in the first round, grappling needed to be addressed. Starting at three jiu-jitsu sessions a week, Agapova moved to five, then eventually eight to nine sessions per week.