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).

Vanessa Melo
Born (1988-03-27) March 27, 1988 (age 36)
Taboão da Serra, São Paulo, Brazil[1]
Other namesMiss Simpatia
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight136.5 lb (62 kg; 9 st 11 lb)
DivisionBantamweight (2017–present)
Flyweight (2011–2019)
Strawweight (2014)
Reach65 in (165 cm)
Fighting out ofSao Paulo, Brazil
TeamBabuino Gold Team[1]
Years active2011–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins11
By submission2
By decision9
Losses12
By knockout1
By decision11
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

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Melo started her mma career fighting in various promotions in Brazil and amassed a record of 10–5 prior signed by UFC.[2]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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Melo was welcomed into the UFC as a short-notice replacement by Irene Aldana at UFC on September 21, 2019.[3] 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.[4] Aldana won the fight by unanimous decision.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] Melo lost the bout by unanimous decision.[9]

Melo faced Karol Rosa at UFC 251 on July 11, 2020.[10] She weighed in at 141 pounds, five pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[11]

Melo was scheduled to face Sarah Moras on November 7, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 182.[12] However, Moras tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was postponed to take place at UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar on January 16, 2021.[13] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[14]

On February 4, 2021, it was announced that Melo was released from her UFC contract.[15]

Professional Fighters League

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Melo faced Martina Jindrová on May 6, 2022 at PFL 3.[16] She lost the bout via unanimous decision.[17]

Melo faced Olena Kolesnyk on July 1, 2022 at PFL 6.[18] She lost the bout via unanimous decision.[19]

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Standout Fighting Tournament
    • SFT Flyweight Championship

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
23 matches 11 wins 12 losses
By knockout 0 1
By submission 2 0
By decision 9 11
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 11–12 Fernanda Barbosa Decision (split) Standout Fighting Tournament 48 June 8, 2024 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil
Loss 11–11 Sidy Rocha Decision (unanimous) Standout Fighting Tournament 44 November 18, 2023 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil Return to Bantamweight.
Loss 11–10 Olena Kolesnyk Decision (unanimous) PFL 6 (2022) July 1, 2022 3 5:00 Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Loss 11–9 Martina Jindrová Decision (unanimous) PFL 3 (2022) May 6, 2022 3 5:00 Arlington, Texas, United States Lightweight debut.
Win 11–8 Sarah Moras Decision (unanimous) UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar January 16, 2021 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Loss 10–8 Karol Rosa Decision (unanimous) UFC 251 July 11, 2020 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Catchweight (141 lb) bout; Melo missed weight.
Loss 10–7 Tracy Cortez Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré November 16, 2019 3 5:00 São 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) bout; Melo missed weight.
Win 10–5 Jan Finney Decision (unanimous) Battlefield FC 2 July 27, 2019 3 5:00 Macau, SAR, China
Win 9–5 Mariana Morais Decision (split) Future FC 5 May 24, 2019 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil Return to Bantamweight.
Win 8–5 Nilde Trindade Decision (unanimous) Future FC 2 February 22, 2019 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil
Win 7–5 Daiane Firmino Decision (split) SFT 6 October 27, 2018 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil Won vacant SFT Flyweight Championship.
Win 6–5 Núbia Santos do Nascimento Decision (unanimous) SFT 5 September 29, 2018 3 5:00 São 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 São Paulo, Brazil
Win 4–4 Juliana Leite Submission (rear-naked choke) Gold Fight 7 September 26, 2015 1 4:01 São Paulo, Brazil
Loss 3–4 Silvana Gómez Juárez Decision (unanimous) XFC International 8 December 13, 2014 3 5:00 Campinas, Brazil Return to Flyweight.
Loss 3–3 Vanessa Guimarães Decision (split) XFC International 6 September 27, 2014 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil For the XFC Strawweight Championship.
Win 3–2 Gloria Bravo Decision (unanimous) XFC International 3 March 29, 2014 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil Strawweight debut.
Win 2–2 Suelen Pereira Submission (rear-naked choke) Circuito Talent de MMA 5 November 23, 2013 1 3:37 São Paulo, Brazil Flyweight bout.
Loss 1–2 Juliana Werner Decision (unanimous) MMA Super Heroes 1 July 13, 2013 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil Flyweight bout.
Loss 1–1 Camila Lima TKO (punches) CT Fight May 19, 2012 1 3:46 São Paulo, Brazil
Win 1–0 Natalie Santos Decision (unanimous) Fight Stars September 14, 2011 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil

[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Shawn Bitter (June 29, 2020), Welcome to the UFC: Vanessa Melo, Cageside Press
  2. ^ Sherdog.com. "Vanessa". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "UFC on ESPN+ 17 results: Irene Aldana's volume overwhelms newcomer Vanessa Melo". MMA Junkie. 2019-09-22. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  6. ^ With Duda Santana out, Tracy Cortez now meets Vanessa Melo at UFC Sao Paulo, MMA Junkie, October 29, 2019
  7. ^ Staff (2019-11-15). "UFC Sao Paulo Weigh-In Results: Main Event Official". cagesidepress. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Cruz, Guilherme (2020-06-11). "Karol Rosa vs. Vanessa Melo added to UFC 251". MMAFighting. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  11. ^ Fuentes, Jon (2020-07-11). "UFC 251 Results: Karol Rosa Outclasses Vanessa Melo". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ John Hyon Ko (December 26, 2020). Sarah Moras ready to capitalize on holes in Vanessa Melo's style. South China Morning Post – via YouTube.
  14. ^ Jay Anderson (2021-01-16). "UFC Fight Island 7 Results: Vanessa Melo Earns First UFC Win Against Sarah Moras". cagesidepress. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  15. ^ Guillherme Cruz, Damon Martin (2021-02-04). "TUF Brazil winner Antonio Carlos Junior, 11 others no longer under contract with UFC". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  16. ^ "Harrison, Cooper to headline PFL3 event". ESPN.com. 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  17. ^ "Gleison Tibau é superado por pontos em decisão polêmica; Vanessa Melo estreia com derrota na PFL #3". SUPER LUTAS (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
  18. ^ "Harrison gets toughest test yet vs. Budd at PFL 6". ESPN.com. 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  19. ^ Fareli, Gabriel (2022-07-01). "Com atuação apagada, Vanessa Melo é derrotada por ucraniana no card preliminar da PFL 6 2022". SUPER LUTAS (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  20. ^ Venessa Melo Profile, Tapology
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