Back in 2023 when Alexa Grasso was getting ready for a rematch against the former UFC women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, the MMA promotion revealed a new addition to the storyline. It was indeed a custom-made championship belt. Unlike the traditional black and gold championship belts, this custom belt had splashes of colors that made it way more vibrant than any other belt in the organization.

Needless to say, both Grasso and Shevchenko gave it their all to try and win the belt at Noche UFC 2023. Before the fated rematch, Dana White was seen holding the belt, and the visual circled through the internet like crazy. Today, let’s find out why the UFC decided to let the flyweight champion have a customized belt.

The real reason why UFC presented a custom belt to Alexa Grasso

UFC Fight Night 227 highlighted the rematch between Grasso and Shevchenko while celebrating Mexican Independence Day. And the UFC head honcho wanted the event to be remembered. The event was already packed with Mexican fighters making a stand for themselves. But apparently, that wasn’t enough. 

As the festivities for the event continued, the MMA promotion presented the customized belt to the reigning champion. Its bright colors signified her country’s rich culture and was, in fact, inspired by the Mexican heritage. Being one of the 3 champions from Mexico, no one was more deserving than Grasso to wear the belt. 

Named the ‘Tribe Belt #1’, the Mexico-themed belt garnered quite a bit of attention from the world of mixed martial arts. Weighing in on the belt before the fight, Grasso said, “It’s not mine yet until I win it and I’m going to do everything to earn it.” After all, the belt’s orange, green, blue, and pink colors shouted honors about her homeland. The ‘Tribe Belt #1’ would later symbolize Grasso’s journey to become a world champion. The belt is the consecration of all the battles that the champ has fought inside the Octagon and signifies the perilous path she took to reach the pinnacle of success in the UFC flyweight division.

As Grasso gets ready to defend the ‘Tribe Belt #1’ at UFC 306 and have another rematch against ‘Bullet’, the belt’s colors have continued to garner the fighting community’s attention. Now, let’s take a closer look at the belt and learn about its features. 

A closer look at Alexa Grasso’s Mexico-themed belt

The belt was designed by Taller Jacobo and Maria Angeles in Oaxaca. Yep, they’re the same artists who designed the custom belt ‘Zapoteca Jaguar Warrior’ for Yair Rodriguez. The artists personally hand-painted the belt with natural materials to make it a bit more special. A press release highlighted, “This design retakes elements of the Mexican pre-Hispanic culture in the heart of the Mixtec/Zapotec cultures, in which values are abstracted in a design that as a memento shows the long road to triumph.”

The belt has a few other elements to visualize the dexterity, courage, discipline, and ability the fighters need to have, to become world champions. You can also see the iconographic details on the belt that represent protection, happiness, movement, people, and the maximum power that one needs to “materialize the arduous path of a champion.”

What are your thoughts on the belt? Do you wish to see any other fighter get a similar belt? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.