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Women's Bantamweight Division

Not Fighting

Vanessa Melo

Women's Bantamweight Division

11-8-0 (W-L-D)

2

Wins by Submission

9

Wins by Decision

Vanessa Melo

athlete record

Info

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started eight years ago. My brother started training, and when he turned into a blue belt, I decided to join him since I saw him really enjoying it and liking the whole team.

What ranks and titles have you held? XFC tournament finalist, SFT champion, #15 ranked bantamweight in the world via FightMatrix.com

Do you have any heroes? My family and my master, Marcos “Babuino” Santos.

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? I started my career with a 1-2 pro record that quickly became a 3-4 pro record. A lot of people said I was never going to achieve anything in MMA and when I got pregnant, even more people told me to quit the sport and look for a job to keep my daughter as a single mom. I kept believing in my dream with the help of my family, my master and my team and managed to get on a 7-1 run in my last eight fights. It was hard, Brazilian MMA doesn’t pay much and in my fight in China the owner of the event did not pay the purses of the fighters and disappeared. To keep pushing and working hard being a single mom made me stronger than I ever thought I would be. Being now in the UFC and having the chance of giving a good life to my daughter and my family makes me the happiest person in the world. Nothing can take away what I felt when my manager called me to give me the news.

Ranks in any martial arts styles:Brown belt in BJJ, light blue belt in Muay Thai

Favorite grappling technique: Armbar

Favorite Striking technique: Left cross

Status
Not Fighting
Place of Birth
Taboao da Serra, Brazil
Fighting style
MMA
Age
35
Height
65.00
Weight
136.00
Octagon Debut
Sep. 21, 2019
Reach
65.00
Leg reach
37.00

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started eight years ago. My brother started training, and when he turned into a blue belt, I decided to join him since I saw him really enjoying it and liking the whole team.

What ranks and titles have you held? XFC tournament finalist, SFT champion, #15 ranked bantamweight in the world via FightMatrix.com

Do you have any heroes? My family and my master, Marcos “Babuino” Santos.

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? I started my career with a 1-2 pro record that quickly became a 3-4 pro record. A lot of people said I was never going to achieve anything in MMA and when I got pregnant, even more people told me to quit the sport and look for a job to keep my daughter as a single mom. I kept believing in my dream with the help of my family, my master and my team and managed to get on a 7-1 run in my last eight fights. It was hard, Brazilian MMA doesn’t pay much and in my last fight in China the owner of the event did not pay the purses of the fighters and disappeared. To keep pushing and working hard being a single mom made me stronger than I ever thought I would be. Being now in the UFC and having the chance of giving a good life to my daughter and my family makes me the happiest person in the world. Nothing can take away what I felt when my manager called me to give me the news.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? No

What was your job before you started fighting? I worked at an office

Ranks in any martial arts styles: Brown belt in BJJ, light blue belt in Muay Thai
Favorite grappling technique: Armbar
Favorite Striking technique: Left cross

UFC 251(7/11/20) Melo lost a three round unanimous decision to Karol Rosa

UFC Fight Night(11/16/19) Melo lost a three round unanimous decision to Tracy Cortez

UFC Fight Night (9/21/19) Melo lost a three round unanimous decision to Irene Aldana