UFC Fight Night: Dione Barbosa vs Melissa Gatto Preview & Prediction
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
A women's flyweight pairing kicks off the prelims as the first fight of the night, with Dione Barbosa taking on Melissa Gatto.
Dione Barbosa vs Melissa Gatto facts
What time are Dione Barbosa and Melissa Gatto expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan? Meta Apex, Enterprise, USA
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 270
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan main card
Renato Moicano vs Chris Duncan (Lightweight)
Virna Jandiroba vs Tabatha Ricci (Women’s Strawweight)
Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev vs Brendson Ribeiro (Light Heavyweight)
Ethyn Ewing vs Rafael Estevam (Bantamweight)
Tommy McMillen vs Manolo Zecchini (Featherweight)
Jose Mauro Delano vs Robert Ruchala (Featherweight)
UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Duncan prelims
Guilherme Pat vs Thomas Petersen (Heavyweight)
Alessandro Costa vs Stewart Nicoll (Flyweight)
Lando Vannata vs Darrius Flowers (Lightweight)
Alice Pereira vs Hailey Cowan (Women’s Bantamweight)
Azamat Bekoev vs Tresean Gore (Middleweight)
Dione Barbosa vs Melissa Gatto (Women’s Flyweight)
Dione Barbosa: "The Witch" looks to push her UFC record above .500
A decorated judoka who represented Brazil at the 2012 London Olympics, Dione Barbosa (8-4) has alternated wins and losses since joining the UFC via the Contender Series in 2023. A black belt in judo and BJJ, “The Witch” has scored first round submissions in 50% of her total wins in MMA, underlining the threat that she poses should the action hit the floor. The Brazilian grappler is coming off a controversial decision loss to Karine Silva, a bout where she had top control for large portions of the contest but failed to land any meaningful damage.
Melissa Gatto: How will the Brazilian striker look after nearly two years out of the cage?
Standing at 3-2 across her first five fights with the promotion, Melissa Gatto (9-2-2) will make her first appearance in almost two years on Saturday night, dropping back down to 125 pounds after making her last appearance at bantamweight. While she’s dropped decisions to Tracy Cortez and Ariane Lipski, the Brazilian hasn’t seen the scorecards in any of her three UFC victories; stopping Tamires Vidal and Sijara Eubanks with body shots and forcing a doctor’s stoppage over Victoria Leonardo in her debut. However, after such an extended period of time on the sidelines, it’s difficult to know what version of Gatto will show up come Saturday.
Dione Barbosa vs Melissa Gatto prediction
Barbosa is likely to enter this one with a sizable chip on her shoulder after a controversial loss to Karine Silva in her last appearance, with many fans and pundits left shocked that she failed to walk away with the victory.
However, she’s going to have to be on her P’s and Q’s charging into range against her latest opponent. A technical striker, Gatto has proven to hit extremely hard for the weight class; there aren’t too many WMMA fighters on the UFC roster with multiple victories by body shot. While Barbosa is undoubtedly to be favored should this fight primarily be contested on the ground, it’s definitely not inconceivable that she walks onto something murderous attempting to close the distance.
With that being said, it’s hard to pick Gatto until we know what she’s going to look like after such an extended layoff, particularly given Barbosa’s grappling pedigree and ability to slow the fight down with wrestling. Even if she hasn’t learnt her lessons from last time and fails to land any meaningful offense once she secures top position, the pick is still for “The Witch’s” control to win through.
Prediction: Dione Barbosa to win by decision
