In this day and age, there are pretty much two ways to get the call to fight in the UFC. The first is that you go through some of the UFC’s prospect programming – The Ultimate Fighter, Contender Series, Road to UFC, etc. The second is that you get the call to fight on short notice – often up a weight class.
Neither of those things were the cage for Melissa Croden, who gets the call to fight at UFC Vencouver this weekend. Out of the blue, the UFC called and decided they wanted to be in the Croden business, which is an honor not lost on her.
“I didn’t really overthink about it too much, but like when people do mention that to me, it is like it feels pretty special to have the opportunity to like have a whole camp and like prepare properly for this fight,” Croden said. “But believe me, I tried to get on Contender Series. I tried to be like I’ve always been ready.”
However, as she and her management pressed for a chance on something like Contender Series, she was told it wasn’t going to happen. That didn’t stop her from keeping her nose on the grindstone.
“I knew I wasn’t going to go on Contender [Series]. Mick [Maynard] said that it wasn’t going to happen because of my age. They weren’t interested. And for whatever reason, it seems like they make those decisions. I’m sure like obviously the matchmakers in the UFC know what they’re doing,” she explained. “They know what they’re looking for. So I just kind of put my head down and trusted what was happening. I was like, just trust the timing.”
Since hearing that, she’s kept her head down, trusting that this day would soon come. At the end, she was rewarded for her faith.
“I’ve been staying ready for the last year since my last fight. I haven’t stopped training. I’ve been training full time just in case a short notice did come up,” Croden said. “It turns out that that wasn’t the situation that I was going to be in. So, I mean, either way, I’ve been in camp mode for the last year, so I was prepared for any opportunity to come my way.”
Now with the opportunity in hand, she’s ready to put on a show. And she’s not just looking for a win, she’s looking to extend her 100% finishing rate on the biggest stage of them all.
“I don’t want to jinx it too much, but I am predicting a probably a TKO,” she said. “That’s kind of my thing. So that’s the route I’m going to seek.”
You can catch her debut at part of the prelims of UFC Vancouver. She fight Tainara Lisboa on ESPN+ with the fight card beginning at 4pm EST.
