Athletes
Melissa Gatto Wants To Make Up For Lost Time
Brazilian Flyweight Ends Her Injury Hiatus As She Prepares To Make A Run At The Division’s Top 15.
Melissa Gatto is back, and she plans on putting the pedal to the metal in a bid to gatecrash the UFC women’s flyweight rankings before the end of the year.
Injuries and travel restrictions meant we had to wait longer than expected to see Gatto in the Octagon, but when she eventually got her UFC career up and running, people started to get genuinely excited about a potential new contender in the women’s flyweight division.
Gatto got her UFC career off to a flying start with stoppage wins over Victoria Leonardo and Sijara Eubanks before decision losses to Tracy Cortez and Ariane da Silva saw her momentum hit the buffers. A bounce-back win over Tamires Vidal put Gatto back on track before injuries derailed her once again.
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Now, almost two years removed from her last UFC appearance, Gatto is back, and ready to make up for lost time as she sets her sights on a spot in the flyweight rankings.
Gatto takes on Dione Barbosa in a 125-pound matchup at UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan at Meta APEX on Saturday night, and the 29-year-old from Toledo, Parana, Brazil is excited to be making her return in Las Vegas this weekend.
“Yeah, I'm very happy. I consider this to be my second home. So I know I'm gonna be here for a while, and I'm very happy to be back,” she told UFC.com. “I had two bad injuries, back-to-back, but now they are 100 percent healed, I'm very happy. I'm ready to come here, pick up my win, and go up in the rankings.”
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Gatto may be a woman in a hurry to get to the flyweight top 15, but she exercised wise caution before eventually signing on the dotted line to return to action. After such a long spell on the shelf, the 9-2-2 talent wanted to make sure that when she returned, she did so on her terms, when she’s ready.
“One thing that I was careful to do was not ask for a fight as soon as I was healed,” she explained. “I took my time to get back, took my time to get ready. Now I'm feeling I'm 100 percent ready, and I feel like it's gonna be just another day for me.”
Melissa Gatto Gets Body Kick TKO | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Daukaus
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Melissa Gatto Gets Body Kick TKO | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Daukaus
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Gatto’s UFC career to date has shown plenty of promise, with perhaps the most notable aspect of her UFC victories so far her penchant for using body shots to get the win. She defeated Eubanks with a thumping body kick, and ripped a thudding punch to the body to stop Vidal.
Those techniques didn’t happen by accident, as Gatto revealed that there’s method to her decision to target the midsections of her opponents.
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“I train a lot for that,” she admitted. “You know, I feel like the women's body has a disadvantage over the men's body regarding body shot resistance. So that's something that I really put in my gameplan, and I try to use it in all of my fights.”
She’ll get the chance to take aim once again when she heads to the Octagon at the Meta APEX on Saturday night, where submission specialist Barbosa will provide a stern test on her return.
“I’m always happy with big fights,” she said. “I feel like this is a big fight for this division, and I know she's a very tough opponent. But I studied her game well. I feel like it's a very good matchup for me, and I'm ready to show on Saturday that I'm up for the challenge.
“I think she's a very complete fighter. She has a great ground game, but her striking is also underrated,” she admitted. “But I'm confident with my gameplan. With my game I feel like I'm able to strike with her (and) I feel like I'm able to grapple with her. So I'm very confident for Saturday.”
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After missing out on nearly two years of her career, Gatti doesn’t want to waste any more time. She plans to get the win on Saturday night, then set in motion a sequence of fights that she hopes will see her end the year with a number next to her name.
“Yeah, I really want to fight a lot this year, like three or four times, and get in the rankings,” she said. “(I’ll) do the work that has to be done, but I definitely want to finish my year ranked.”
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The first step on that journey comes Saturday night, when Gatto plans to continue her 100 percent finish rate in the UFC with another inside-the-distance victory.
“I want a knockout or a submission,” she said. “I have no decision wins in the UFC, and I’m gonna keep it like that.”
UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 4, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!