Dione Barbosa defeats Anna Melisano by Submission
Barbosa vs Melisano — Women's Flyweight · UFC Fight Night
What happened
The result, the defining moments, and what the verdict means.
Barbosa closed distance early and took Melisano down inside the opening exchanges.
She advanced through dominant positions, mixing ground-and-pound with submission attempts.
As Melisano came up, Barbosa leapt to the back and finished with a rear-naked choke at 4:04.
- Official UFC resultsUFC Oklahoma City preliminary results
Watch
More from this fight.
More videos · 4 clips
Signature moments
Signature moments
Who Called It?
How the analysts' picks held up once the cage door closed.
Analyst picks: Adam Martin perfect call; Marcel Dorff perfect call; Ben Duffy perfect call; Keith Shillan perfect call; AJ called it; Mike Finch called it; Half The Battle called it; DFS By The Numbers called it; JakeGerberMMA called it; James Lynch called it.
10 of 10 nailed it · 4 nailed the finish ★.
The experts above are a lens, not credentials we conferred — analyst, fighter or betting desk.
Full analyst picks ↓
Adam Martin AnalystBetting desk called 14 of 17 Adam Martin: predicted Barbosa · Sub · R1. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Perfect call.
Calls Barbosa an easy first-round submission pick against the UFC newcomer.
Track record: winner called in 14 of 17 resolved picks, 8 a perfect call.
Marcel Dorff Analyst called 13 of 16 Marcel Dorff: predicted Barbosa · Sub · R1. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Perfect call.
Backs Barbosa's experience and strength at flyweight for a first-round submission.
Track record: winner called in 13 of 16 resolved picks, 8 a perfect call.
Ben Duffy Analyst called 13 of 16 Ben Duffy: predicted Barbosa · Sub · R1. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Perfect call.
Expects Barbosa's clinch and grappling advantage over Melisano to produce an early armbar.
Track record: winner called in 13 of 16 resolved picks, 8 a perfect call.
Keith Shillan Analyst called 11 of 15 Keith Shillan: predicted Barbosa · Sub · R1. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Perfect call.
Sees Barbosa's ground advantage as too large and expects her to take Melisano down and submit her quickly.
Track record: winner called in 11 of 15 resolved picks, 7 a perfect call.
AJ Betting deskAnalyst called 52 of 71 AJ: predicted Barbosa · to win. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Hit.
Takes Barbosa to outgrapple Melisano, citing the physical flyweight matchup and Barbosa's top-control advantage.
Track record: winner called in 52 of 71 resolved picks, 25 a perfect call.
Mike Finch Betting deskAnalyst called 23 of 36 Mike Finch: predicted Barbosa · to win. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Hit.
Expects Barbosa's UFC experience and grappling to overwhelm the debuting Melisano on the mat.
Track record: winner called in 23 of 36 resolved picks, 9 a perfect call.
Half The Battle Analyst called 33 of 48 Half The Battle: predicted Barbosa · to win. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Hit.
Picks Barbosa to finish Melisano, emphasizing Barbosa's experience and well-roundedness at the price.
Track record: winner called in 33 of 48 resolved picks, 7 a perfect call.
DFS By The Numbers Betting deskAnalyst called 60 of 88 DFS By The Numbers: predicted Barbosa · to win. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Hit.
Takes Barbosa to use her physical grappling edge against the short-notice newcomer.
Track record: winner called in 60 of 88 resolved picks, 23 a perfect call.
JakeGerberMMA Analyst called 44 of 62 JakeGerberMMA: predicted Barbosa · to win. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Hit.
Takes Barbosa's UFC experience and grappling over the debuting Melisano.
Track record: winner called in 44 of 62 resolved picks, 10 a perfect call.
James Lynch Analyst called 17 of 24 James Lynch: predicted Barbosa · to win. Actual Barbosa · Sub R1. Result: Hit.
Picks Barbosa, expecting her to win a decision despite no betting interest at the price.
Track record: winner called in 17 of 24 resolved picks, 3 a perfect call.
Archive Pre-fight material — kept for transparency.
- 9-4-0
- Record
- 6-1-0
- 3-2 last 5
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 5-0 last 5
- 166 cm
- Reach
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- —
- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
- —
- 2.21
- Sig. strikes landed / minStrikes / minSignificant strikes landed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter lands for every minute of fight time — a read on striking output and pace. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- 2.40
- Sig. strikes absorbed / minAbsorbed / minSignificant strikes absorbed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter takes for every minute of fight time. Lower is better — it means they get hit less often. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- —
- 64%
- Striking defenseStrike def.Striking defenseThe percentage of opponents’ significant strikes that do not land — strikes slipped, blocked or evaded. Higher is better. Not the same as striking accuracy, which counts your own strikes that land. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- 64%
- Takedown defenseTD def.Takedown defenseThe percentage of opponents’ takedown attempts that are stuffed. Higher means harder to put on the mat. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- 11:28
- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Brazil
- Nationality
- United States
- UFC Performance Institute
- Team
- SBG Alabama / Spartan Fitness MMA
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Barbosa
Barbosa is the more proven grappler and the only fighter here with UFC wins — judo entries and top control that beat Belbita, Gatto and Kareckaite. Against a short-notice debutant, her Octagon experience and ability to turn the fight into a grappling test are the safest edges in the matchup.
Case for Melisano
Melisano arrives unbeaten in her last five and finishing at will on the regional scene — a knockout, a rear-naked choke and a doctor stoppage among them. On short notice against a UFC Performance Institute grappler the ask is steep, so her path is to keep it standing and swing the debut nerves onto a Barbosa who has stopped only four of nine opponents.
What We Were Watching For
- Debut on short notice: can Melisano handle Barbosa's grappling pressure without a full camp?
- Barbosa's judo against Melisano's power: does the fight live in the clinch or in open-space exchanges?
- Barbosa's finishing drought: a 44% finish rate — does she have the pop to stop a durable debutant, or is this a decision?
- Experience gap: Barbosa has UFC rounds banked, Melisano has none — how much does that tell late?
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