5 Things You Might Not Know About Alyona Rassohyna

Even as world events threaten the existence of her homeland, Alyona Rassohyna looks like a key piece of the One Championship puzzle.

The 32-year-old Ukrainian burst on the global scene in 2021 with a stunning guillotine choke submission of Nong Stamp and appeared poised to make real waves in the Singapore-based organization. Rassohyna entered the One Championship atomweight grand prix with momentum but wound up on the wrong side of a contentious split decision in her rematch with Stamp, then saw her immediate future further clouded by the Russian Federation’s horrific invasion of Ukraine. Where she goes from here remains anyone’s guess.

As the mixed martial arts community awaits word on Rassohyna’s next step, here are five things you might not know about her:

1. Tragedy could not have struck any closer to home.

Rassohyna was born on June 11, 1990 in Dnipro, Ukraine—a city of nearly 1,000,000 inhabitants situated in the eastern quadrant of the European nation. During the ongoing war, its tactical value has made it a rallying point for Ukrainians and their allies and a prime target for the Russian military. Understandably, Rassohyna has not fought since Russia invaded in February.

2. Versatility opened doors for her.

The 5-foot-2 Yarost Gym product has competed in four different weight classes after debuting as a 20-year-old under the M-1 Global banner in November 2010. Rassohyna has fought at atomweight, strawweight, flyweight and bantamweight. She carries a No. 4 ranking in the latest One Championship atomweight rankings, with only Stamp, Seo Hee Ham and Denice Zamboanga ahead of her.

3. She weaponized her base skills.

Rassohyna holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Noah Magnus. She has delivered 11 of her 13 career victories by submission, 10 of them by armbar.

4. Gold did not weigh her down.

Prior to signing with One Championship, Rassohyna laid claim to the vacant World Warriors Fighting Championship atomweight crown when she submitted Elaine Leal with an armbar just 62 seconds into their WWFC 15 pairing on Sept. 21, 2019. She arrived in one a little more than a year later.

5. Her talents have taken her places.

Rassohyna has already fought in six different countries during her 18-fight career. In addition to the stellar 10-2 mark she owns in her native Ukraine, she has gone 1-1 in Singapore, 1-0 in Estonia, 1-0 in Bulgaria, 0-1 in South Korea and 0-1 in Finland.