“I signed with the UFC and waited two years to do my first walkout, so I was very, very happy when I actually got to do it.”
The flyweight made the most of it, outperforming a game Victoria Leonardo with her trademark high-level jiu-jitsu for the two rounds that the fight lasted. Between the second and third rounds, the doctor overheard Leonardo inform her corner that her arm “was not working.” Leonardo insisted whatever was wrong, she would happily fight through it. Upon inspection, however, it was determined that the arm was fractured and the fight was ruled a TKO on the doctor’s stoppage.
“I wish I had fought that third round. I was a little frustrated that I couldn’t,” she admits. Like her opponent, she wanted to continue in order to remove any doubt. But nonetheless, the relief of scoring that first UFC win resulted in pure joy.
“It felt amazing; I was so happy.”
It was the culmination of a veritable lifetime in the gym. Inspired by the likes of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan as a child, she wanted a taste of the thrilling sequences she saw on the silver screen. Her first discipline was Kung Fu.
Watch Melissa Gatto’s UFC Debut on FIGHT PASS
“I started training because of my older brother, I used to watch him. And I really like fighting,” she laughs. “I’m a BJJ purple belt with several titles in BJJ competitions in the south of Brazil.”