After making a successful bantamweight debut at UFC Fight Night 241, Melissa Gatto is looking to return to flyweight.
Gatto scored a third-round TKO victory over fellow Brazilian Tamirez Vidal on Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Gatto now hopes to return to competition in August – preferably at 125 pounds.
“I want to fight at flyweight in August,” Gatto said during the post-fight scrum. “But if the UFC wants me at bantamweight, I’m here to fight. I want to fight. I was born to fight.”
Gatto feels he is a natural flyweight, but also emphasizes that he could comfortably fight at 135 pounds if the promotion wanted it. Gatto explained why flyweight is her favorite division.
“I consider myself a flyweight, so my body is [likes the] Flyweight,” she said. “And I think flyweight, that’s what the team told me. Of course, but bantamweight is fine too.”
Gutto’s victory over Vidal came with a punch to the chest that elicited a delayed reaction from “Tora Tora”. Vidal inexplicably stopped the fight, as if expecting a timeout for an unfair blow. Gat followed with a volley attack and secured his victory. Gatto revealed that he did not consider stopping his opponent because of his reaction, as the referee did not intervene.
Gatto also claims that he saw Vidal try to stop the move after sustaining an injury from a similar blow in an earlier match.
“No, of course not. [never considered stopping]. Because I watched her last fight and she always feels like that. [punch to the chest]
And she always tries to stop the fight,” Gatto said. “But the judges
[referee] “Don’t quit, just go,” he told me. And I will go and make it all the way and come out victorious. ”
Gatto’s latest victory rebounded her from a two-fight slump and improved her promotion record to 3-2, with all of her wins coming by stoppage. Meanwhile, after Vidal suffered a stoppage victory over Ramona Pascual in her 2022 UFC debut, she was dropped for the second consecutive fight.
