UFC Fight Night: Beatriz Mesquita vs Melissa Mullins Preview & Prediction
A women's bantamweight tilt closes out the prelims, with Beatriz Mesquita looking for her third consecutive victory in the promotion against Melissa Mullins.
Beatriz Mesquita vs Melissa Mullins facts
What time are Beatriz Mesquita and Melissa Mullins expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi? Meta Apex, Enterprise, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 279
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi main card
Manel Kape vs Kyoji Horiguchi (Flyweight)
Ion Cutelaba vs Navajo Stirling (Light Heavyweight)
Hyder Amil vs Christian Rodriguez (Featherweight)
Melsik Baghdasaryan vs Murtazali Magomedov (Featherweight)
Andre Fili vs Vinicius Oliveira (Featherweight)
UFC Fight Night: Kape vs Horiguchi prelims
Andre Lima vs Kevin Borjas (Flyweight)
Beatriz Mesquita vs Melissa Mullins (Women's Bantamweight)
Allan Nascimento vs Mitch Raposo (Flyweight)
Gaston Bolanos vs Michael Aswell Jr. (Featherweight)
Leon Shahbazyan vs Levan Chokheli (Welterweight)
Karol Rosa vs Luana Santos (Women's Bantamweight)
Shane Collins vs Otari Tanzilovi (Featherweight)
Beatriz Mesquita: "The Lady GOAT" looks for her third victory in the space of a year
Undefeated in two bouts since debuting in the promotion last October, Bia Mesquita (7-0) looks to score her third submission victory in three UFC fights come Saturday night. One of the most decorated BJJ practitioners in UFC history, Mesquita has been perfect in her MMA career to date, boasting a 100% submission rate outside of a DQ victory where she caught an illegal upkick from Hope Chase in LFA. The second degree black belt has been a breath of fresh air for the sparse women’s bantamweight division, earning rear naked choke victories over Irina Alekseeva and Montserrat Rendon.
Melissa Mullins: Can the English veteran triumph as a considerable underdog?
Returning for her first fight since 2025 after a bout with Luana Carolina fizzled in March, Melissa Mullins (7-2) aims to right the ship after a disappointing loss to Darya Zheleznyakova last time out. “No Mess” has alternated wins and losses in the promotion since signing to the UFC back in 2023, posting wins over Irina Alekseeva and Klaudia Sygula while dropping results to Nora Cornolle and the aforementioned Zhelznyakova in a rematch. A heavy handed striker who isn’t afraid to mix in takedowns, Mullins has been more active on the grappling circuit than the cage as of late, going 1-2 at ADCC.
Beatriz Mesquita vs Melissa Mullins prediction
It’s not hard to see why Mesquita is such an enormous favorite here.
“The Lady GOAT" is a lethal BJJ practitioner, earning submission victories in all but one of her seven professional bouts to date. While she fought a steady diet of cans throughout her early career, she’s been taking on increasingly difficult levels of competition and the finishes keep coming. Granted, she has yet to take on anybody of ranked caliber in the promotion, but she’s proven capable of smashing fighters who are arguably on Mullins’ level.
The Englishwoman has a significant size advantage here and could conceivably land the bigger shots on the feet to secure the victory; Mesquita’s striking is nowhere near as polished as her grappling. However, it’s also worth noting the disparity in performances against the pair’s only mutual opponent; the similarly sized Irina Alekseeva. “Russia Ronda” knocked Mullins down and was also able to secure a takedown against her, while Mesquita took Alekseeva down twice, battered her with GNP, and locked up a RNC without much difficulty.
Throw in Mesquita's momentum and activity alongside how bad Mullins looked against Darya Zheleznyakova last time out, and this one looks like a no brainer. The Brazilian forces the action to the ground and locks up a submission somewhere inside the first two rounds.
Prediction: Beatriz Mesquita to win by submission
