Vanessa Melo Explained

Vanessa Melo
Other Names:Miss Simpatia
Birth Date:27 March 1988
Birth Place:Taboão da Serra, São Paulo, Brazil
Fighting Out Of:Sao Paulo, Brazil
Weight Lb:136.5
Weight Class:Bantamweight (2017–present)
Flyweight (2011–2019)
Strawweight (2014)
Reach:65 in
Team:Babuino Gold Team
Years Active:2011–present
Mma Subwin:2
Mma Decwin:9
Mma Koloss:1
Mma Decloss:11
Sherdog:120777

Vanessa De Melo Silva (born March 27, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. She is most known for her time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL).

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.[1]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Melo was welcomed into the UFC as a short-notice replacement by Irene Aldana at UFC on September 21, 2019.[2] 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.[3] Aldana won the fight by unanimous decision.[4]

Melo's next fight was again a late-replacement fight against Tracy Cortez on November 11, 2019 in Sao Paulo at . 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.[5] 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.[6] Melo lost the bout by unanimous decision.[7]

Melo faced Karol Rosa at UFC 251 on July 11, 2020.[8] She weighed in at 141 pounds, five pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[9]

Melo was scheduled to face Sarah Moras on November 7, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 182.[10] However, Moras tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was postponed to take place at on January 16, 2021.[11] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[12]

On February 4, 2021, it was announced that Melo was released from her UFC contract.[13]

Professional Fighters League

Melo faced Martina Jindrová on May 6, 2022 at PFL 3.[14] She lost the bout via unanimous decision.[15]

Melo faced Olena Kolesnyk on July 1, 2022 at PFL 6.[16] She lost the bout via unanimous decision.[17]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

|-|Loss|align=center|11–12|Fernanda Barbosa|Decision (split)|Standout Fighting Tournament 48||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|11–11|Sidy Rocha|Decision (unanimous)|Standout Fighting Tournament 44||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|11–10|Olena Kolesnyk|Decision (unanimous)|PFL 6 (2022)||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Atlanta, Georgia, United States||-|Loss|align=center|11–9|Martina Jindrová|Decision (unanimous)|PFL 3 (2022)||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Arlington, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center|11–8|Sarah Moras|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates||-|Loss|align=center|10–8|Karol Rosa|Decision (unanimous)|UFC 251||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates||-|Loss|align=center|10–7|Tracy Cortez|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|10–6|Irene Aldana|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Mexico City, Mexico||-|Win|align=center|10–5|Jan Finney|Decision (unanimous)|Battlefield FC 2||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Macau, SAR, China||-|Win|align=center|9–5|Mariana Morais|Decision (split)|Future FC 5||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|8–5|Nilde Trindade|Decision (unanimous)|Future FC 2||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|7–5|Daiane Firmino|Decision (split)|SFT 6||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|6–5|Núbia Santos do Nascimento|Decision (unanimous)|SFT 5||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|5–5|Suvi Salmimies|Decision (split)|Cage 37||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Helsinki, Finland||-|Win|align=center|5–4|Molly McCann|Decision (unanimous)|XFC International 12||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|4–4|Juliana Leite|Submission (rear-naked choke)|Gold Fight 7||align=center|1|align=center|4:01|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|3–4|Silvana Gómez Juárez|Decision (unanimous)|XFC International 8||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Campinas, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|3–3|Vanessa Guimarães|Decision (split)|XFC International 6||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|3–2|Gloria Bravo|Decision (unanimous)|XFC International 3||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|2–2|Suelen Pereira|Submission (rear-naked choke)|Circuito Talent de MMA 5||align=center|1|align=center|3:37|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|1–2|Juliana Werner|Decision (unanimous)|MMA Super Heroes 1||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center|1–1|Camila Lima|TKO (punches)|CT Fight||align=center|1|align=center|3:46|São Paulo, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|1–0|Natalie Santos|Decision (unanimous)|Fight Stars||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|São Paulo, Brazil||-

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sherdog.com. Vanessa. 2020-07-12. Sherdog.
  2. Web site: Vanessa 'Miss Sympathy' replaces Marion Reneau to fight at UFC Mexico. Diego Ribas. esportes.yahoo.com. 2019-09-11. 2019-09-11.
  3. Web site: UFC Mexico City weigh-in results: Short-notice replacement Vanessa Melo misses weight by four pounds. Alexander K. Lee. 2019-09-20. mmafighting.com. 2019-09-20.
  4. Web site: UFC on ESPN+ 17 results: Irene Aldana's volume overwhelms newcomer Vanessa Melo. 2019-09-22. MMA Junkie. en. 2019-09-22.
  5. Web site: UFC Sao Paulo Weigh-In Results: Main Event Official. Staff. 2019-11-15. cagesidepress . 2019-11-15.
  6. Web site: Commission: Tracy Cortez, Vanessa Melo did not miss weight for UFC Sao Paulo, error due to scale issue. 2019-11-15. mmafghting. Guilherme Cruz. 2019-11-16.
  7. Web site: UFC Sao Paulo Results: Tracy Cortez Wrestles Her Way to Victory in Octagon Debut. Shillan. Keith. 2019-11-16. Cageside Press. en-US. 2019-11-17.
  8. Web site: Karol Rosa vs. Vanessa Melo added to UFC 251. Cruz. Guilherme. 2020-06-11. MMAFighting. en-US. 2020-06-29.
  9. Web site: Fuentes. Jon. 2020-07-11. UFC 251 Results: Karol Rosa Outclasses Vanessa Melo. 2020-07-12. Cageside Press. en-US.
  10. Web site: ATSteveDuncan. 2020-08-14. Vanessa Melo vs. Sarah Moras agregado al evento del 7 de Noviembre. 2020-08-14. MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español.. es.
  11. Sarah Moras ready to capitalize on holes in Vanessa Melo's style. December 26, 2020. South China Morning Post. John Hyon Ko. YouTube.
  12. Web site: Jay Anderson. 2021-01-16. UFC Fight Island 7 Results: Vanessa Melo Earns First UFC Win Against Sarah Moras. 2021-01-16. cagesidepress. en.
  13. Web site: TUF Brazil winner Antonio Carlos Junior, 11 others no longer under contract with UFC. MMAFighting.com. Guillherme Cruz, Damon Martin. 2021-02-04. 2021-02-04.
  14. Web site: 2022-04-05 . Harrison, Cooper to headline PFL3 event . 2022-04-05 . ESPN.com . en.
  15. Web site: 2022-05-06 . Gleison Tibau é superado por pontos em decisão polêmica; Vanessa Melo estreia com derrota na PFL #3 . 2022-05-07 . SUPER LUTAS . pt-BR.
  16. Web site: 2022-06-01 . Harrison gets toughest test yet vs. Budd at PFL 6 . 2022-06-01 . ESPN.com . en.
  17. Web site: Fareli . Gabriel . 2022-07-01 . Com atuação apagada, Vanessa Melo é derrotada por ucraniana no card preliminar da PFL 6 2022 . 2022-07-02 . SUPER LUTAS . pt-BR.