Vanessa “Miss Simpatia” Melo (10-8 MMA, 0-3 UFC)
Bantamweight (135lbs): 0-1 (UFC), Missed weight 2 times
Catchweight (140lbs, 141lbs, 136lbs): 0-3 (UFC)
Vanessa Melo has struggled mightily since being brought up to the UFC in 2019. Melo has struggled not only with winning a fight, but also with taking care of business while on the scale the day before the fight.
Interestingly enough, before Melo was brought up to the UFC she had the majority of her fights within the flyweight division and even had a fight in the strawweight division. Like her 2015 win over future UFC fighter Molly McCann at 125lbs, and her Standout Fighting Tournament (SFT) Bantamweight Championship win in 2018. Vanessa’s last two fights before entering the UFC were at bantamweight, but for her UFC debut she missed weight by 4lbs, coming in at 140lbs. On top of this, Vanessa lost her UFC debut to Irene Aldana the following day in September of 2019. After some confusion at the weigh ins (See here) for her next fight, Melo made weight, but ended up losing to UFC newcomer, Tracy Cortez.
In Melo’s most recent bout against Karol Rosa she again missed weight and the bout had to be rescheduled to a catchweight bout of 141lbs. Melo lost the bout bringing her UFC record to 0-3. At 5’5″ the bantamweight division will likely be the best division for Vanessa to compete in, so it will be interesting to see how she fares on the scales ahead of her bout at UFC Fight Island 7. It’s important for Melo to make weight and arguably even more important for her to capture her first win in the UFC the following night.
