Issue 226
February 2026
Before championship belts were on the line, the world's greatest fighters were locked in their own battles. Isaac Barnett delves into the gritty and inspiring MMA origin stories that forged these warriors into the legends they are today.
ALEXA GRASSO – FAMILY NATURE
Alexa Grasso was born on August 9, 1993, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Like many children in her neighbourhood, Grasso spent her afternoons playing football with friends after school and helping her parents around the house. In an interview with the UFC, Grasso spoke about her personality.
“I was a very shy girl, very quiet. I never thought I would be a fighter. I just wanted to be with my family and do my homework.”
Her uncle, Francisco Grasso, ran a local gym. Initially, despite her cousins' martial arts training, Grasso was hesitant to be involved.
“My cousins were training, but I was embarrassed. I thought, ‘That’s not for me,’” she told ESPN.
It was only after a lot of convincing from her cousins and uncle that she decided to try boxing classes. The main reason her uncle wanted her to try out the sport was that she had enormous fists for a 12-year-old. Grasso’s mother initially expressed concern about her daughter taking up boxing, mainly because she had always encouraged Grasso to stay away from combat sports and focus on her schoolwork. Despite early doubts, Grasso’s interest in the sport became apparent, and with that, the work ethic that would go on to pay dividends in her future endeavours.
Her mother came around, and Grasso promised her that her school grades wouldn’t slip. As it happened, they improved.
She told MMA Junkie: “My uncle told me, ‘If you want to get better, you have to keep coming back.’ That stuck with me.”
Supported by her family, Grasso embraced combat sports, gradually shifting from a shy, quiet girl to a dedicated, confident young fighter.
“My family didn’t have a lot, but we always supported each other. That’s what gave me strength.”
Before long, she was deep into the family business, training in Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu, then developing her love for boxing. After taking some Gi classes with her uncle, she began competing in Jiu-jitsu tournaments. When she turned 19, she reached a decision point. Her school grades were great, and she had the opportunity to go to college, but her heart was in fighting. She turned professional after years of experience in amateur competition, and won he first fight via KO in 15 seconds. She quickly amassed a perfect 8-0 record before signing with the UFC in 2016, when she had just turned 23.
JOE PYFER – BREAKING POINT
Joe Pyfer was born on September 17, 1996, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Growing up, Pyfer, along with his four sisters, faced a difficult home life. His mother and father were violent, often beating him and his sisters both physically and verbally.
Speaking to UFC, Pyfer said, “I went through a lot as a kid. I wasn’t given much love, and I had to grow up fast. That’s why I fight with so much emotion and intensity. It all comes from my upbringing.”
Sports became his escape, and he would spend hours outside, playing football and basketball with neighbourhood friends to take his mind off his struggles at home. His school work suffered, he had no confidence, and he’d often fall asleep in class because of the sleepless nights his drunken parents imposed on him. During his teens, his parents divorced, and his mother lost custody of him and his sisters. His father continued to abuse him, and Pyfer decided he needed a distraction.
On The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, he said, “I was a troubled kid, and I was looking for something to keep me out of trouble. My father was never really around, so I found a sense of family at the gym.”
At age 15, Pyfer started training in boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, quickly discovering a natural talent for combat sports, and he used his pent-up frustration to motivate him further.
His first gym was a sanctuary; he told MMA Junkie, “The gym saved my life. I had people who actually cared about me and wanted to see me succeed. That was the first time I felt like I belonged somewhere.”
At 16, Pyfer had enough of his father after he was beaten the worst he’d ever been and was threatened to be killed. He ran away and spent his high school years living with a friend who’d been adopted.
“I got tired of being beaten up in front of his wife and treated like I was just some type of slave and property. Nobody f*cking owns me, so I got tired of that sh*t… I was gonna either hurt myself or hurt him. That was the final straw.”
He found his way into his high school wrestling gym, and, with his previous martial arts experience, his coaches suggested he try out for professional MMA.
With his natural ability and relentless motivation to prove his father wrong, he is currently one of the UFC’s fastest rising stars.
CAIO BORRALHO - A TRUE FIGHTING “NERD”
Caio Borralho was born on January 16, 1993, in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. As an only child, Borralho was raised in a small apartment by his mother, Marcia, after his parents separated when he was young. Despite the financial hardships a fatherless family can endure, his mother gave him the best life she could.
In an interview with the UFC, Borralho said, “My mother did everything she could for me. She worked multiple jobs so we could eat and so I could study. She is my hero.”
Borralho excelled academically during his early years. He was an avid reader and dreamed of becoming a scientist. He was bullied at school, often for being smaller and being branded a nerd. His introduction to martial arts came at age 12, when his uncle first took him to his first Judo class. Judo quickly became his passion, and he soon added Brazilian jiu-jitsu to his training. His grandfather was a maths teacher, and one day, during a class, he had to leave abruptly. He asked Borralho to teach the rest of the class for him because he knew his grandson understood what to do. From that moment on, he began teaching maths and chemistry. He was 15, and his friends and neighbours were begging him to give private lessons.
He told ESPN, “I was able to teach, I was about 14, 15 years old. Then the neighbour found out, I started giving private lessons to her son. Then he told someone else, and I started teaching.”
“I passed Industrial Chemistry at UFMA, then I started to fall in love with chemistry in high school. The whole high school, about 20 people, went to my house to have classes.”
He began taking judo and jiu-jitsu seriously at this point in time as well, and he even began teaching others. His excellent grades and teaching experience enabled him to attend college to study industrial chemistry, but despite the opportunity, his heart was taken by fighting. He dropped everything and promised his mother he would make it up to her for everything she had done for him.
