Vanessa Melo

Vanessa Melo (born March 27, 1988) is an Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional since 2011, she currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Vanessa Melo
Born	(1988-06-27) June 27, 1988 Taboao Da Serra, Brazil[1]
Other names	Miss Simpatia
Nationality	Brazilian
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight	136.5 lb (62 kg; 9 st 11 lb)
Division	Bantamweight (2017–present) Flyweight (2011–2019) Strawweight (2014)
Reach	65.0 in (165 cm)
Fighting out of	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Team	Babuino Gold Team[2]
Years active	2011–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	18
Wins	10
By submission	2
By decision	8
Losses	8
By knockout	1
By decision	7

Mixed Martial Arts Career

Early career

Melo started her mma career fighting in various promotions in Brazil and amassed a record of 10-5 prior signed by UFC.[3]

Ultimate Fighter Championship

Melo was welcomed into the UFC as a short-notice replacement by Irene Aldana at UFC on September 21, 2019.[4] At the weigh-ins, Melo weighed in at 140 pounds, 4 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136. She was fined 30% of her purse and her bout with Aldana proceeded at a catchweight.[5] Aldana won the fight by unanimous decision.[6]

Melo‘s next Fight was again a late-replacement fight against Tracy Cortez on November 11, 2019 in Sao Paulo at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré.[7] At the weigh-ins, Cortez and Melo both missed weight for their fight, both weighing in at 136.5 pounds, 0.5 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136. The bout was initially proceeded at a catchweight and no fine was issued due to identical misses.[8] However, later on the same day, Brazil's athletic commission (CABMMA) executive director Cristiano Sampaio announced that due to an error of the scale used at the weight-ins was set was 0.7 pounds above the official scale and thus both fighters were officially clear from missing weight and the bout proceeded at bantamweight.[9] Melo lost the bout by unanimous decision.[10]

Melo faced Karol Rosa at UFC 251 on July 11, 2020.[11] She weighed in at 141 pounds, five pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[12]

Melo is scheduled to face Sarah Moras on November 7, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183.[13]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
18 matches	10 wins	8 losses
By knockout	0	1
By submission	2	0
By decision	8	7

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	10–8	Karol Rosa	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 251	July 11, 2020	3	5:00	Abu Dhabi, UAE	Catchweight (141 lb), Melo missed weight
Loss	10–7	Tracy Cortez	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré	November 16, 2019	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Loss	10–6	Irene Aldana	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens	September 21, 2019	3	5:00	Mexico City, Mexico	Catchweight (140 lb), Melo missed weight
Win	10–5	Jan Finney	Decision (unanimous)	Battlefield FC 2	July 27, 2019	3	5:00	Macau, China
Win	9–5	Mariana Morais	Decision (split)	Future FC 5	May 24, 2019	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Back to Bantamweight
Win	8–5	Filonilda Trindade da Conceicao	Decision (unanimous)	Future FC 2	February 22, 2019	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Win	7–5	Daiane Firmino	Decision (split)	SFT 6	October 27, 2018	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil	For the vacant SFT Vacant Flyweight Championship.
Win	6–5	Nubia Santos do Nascimento	Decision (unanimous)	SFT 5	September 29, 2018	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Loss	5–5	Suvi Salmimies	Decision (split)	Cage 37	November 26, 2017	3	5:00	Helsinki, Finland	Bantamweight Debut.
Win	5–4	Molly McCann	Decision (unanimous)	XFC International 12	November 28, 2015	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Loss	4–4	Juliana Leite	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Gold Fight 7	September 26, 2015	1	4:01	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Loss	3–4	Silvana Gomez Juarez	Decision (unanimous)	XFC International 8	December 13, 2014	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Back to Flyweight
Loss	3–3	Vanessa Guimaraes	Decision (split)	XFC International 6	September 27, 2014	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil	For XFC Strawweight Championship.
Win	3–2	Gloria Bravo	Decision (unanimous)	XFC International 3	March 29, 2014	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Strawweight Debut.
Win	2–2	Suelen Pereira	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Circuito Talent de MMA 5	November 23, 2013	1	3:37	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Loss	1–2	Juliana Werner	Decision (unanimous)	MMA Super Heroes 1	July 13, 2013	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Loss	1–1	Camila Lima	TKO (punches)	CTF: CT Fight	May 19, 2012	1	3:46	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Win	1–0	Natalie Santos	Decision (unanimous)	FS: Fight Stars	September 14, 2011	3	5:00	Sao Paulo, Brazil

[14]

References

1. Shawn Bitter (June 29, 2020), Welcome to the UFC: Vanessa Melo, Cageside Press
2. Shawn Bitter (June 29, 2020), Welcome to the UFC: Vanessa Melo, Cageside Press
3. Sherdog.com. "Vanessa". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
4. Diego Ribas (2019-09-11). "Vanessa 'Miss Sympathy' replaces Marion Reneau to fight at UFC Mexico". esportes.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-09-11. (in Portuguese)
5. Alexander K. Lee (2019-09-20). "UFC Mexico City weigh-in results: Short-notice replacement Vanessa Melo misses weight by four pounds". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
6. "UFC on ESPN+ 17 results: Irene Aldana's volume overwhelms newcomer Vanessa Melo". MMA Junkie. 2019-09-22. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
7. With Duda Santana out, Tracy Cortez now meets Vanessa Melo at UFC Sao Paulo, MMA Junkie, October 29, 2019
8. Staff (2019-11-15). "UFC Sao Paulo Weigh-In Results: Main Event Official". cagesidepress. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
9. Guilherme Cruz (2019-11-15). "Commission: Tracy Cortez, Vanessa Melo did not miss weight for UFC Sao Paulo, error due to scale issue". mmafghting. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
10. Shillan, Keith (2019-11-16). "UFC Sao Paulo Results: Tracy Cortez Wrestles Her Way to Victory in Octagon Debut". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
11. Cruz, Guilherme (2020-06-11). "Karol Rosa vs. Vanessa Melo added to UFC 251". MMAFighting. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
12. Fuentes, Jon (2020-07-11). "UFC 251 Results: Karol Rosa Outclasses Vanessa Melo". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
13. ATSteveDuncan (2020-08-14). "Vanessa Melo vs. Sarah Moras agregado al evento del 7 de Noviembre". MMA.uno , #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
14. Venessa Melo Profile, Tapology

External links

• Vanessa Melo at UFC
• Professional MMA record for Vanessa Melo from Sherdog