Women’s Flyweights
NR | Tracy Cortez (9-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. NR | Melissa Gatto (8-0-2, 2-0 UFC)Promising flyweight prospects square off in this excellent fight. Cortez’s 2019 win over Mariya Agapova was not overwhelmingly impressive, but it was clearly enough to earn her a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. Between Cortez’s marketability and her inspirational life story of fighting in her brother’s memory, she was clearly a prospect worth picking up; and while she has not maintained a particularly active schedule, she has impressed during her trips to the Octagon. A strong wrestler, Cortez found some surprising success in two UFC wins at bantamweight before moving back down to 125 pounds against Justine Kish in 2021. Some cracks started to show in Cortez’s game against Kish—she missed weight and faded late in the fight, and while she is a willing and solid striker, she gets hit a lot in return—but there is a lot of obvious natural talent. Perhaps she can show some new wrinkles against Gatto. Brazil’s Gatto signed with the UFC in 2019, but injuries and a drug suspension delayed her debut until August, over two years after she first signed. Frankly, Gatto’s regional film did not paint her to be a UFC-caliber fighter. Beyond a submission win over Karol Rosa in a fight where she was clearly outclassed up to that point, Gatto’s success came either via questionable decisions or over the lowest level of competition. With that backdrop, she was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2021. Cutting down to flyweight in the UFC has put her at enough physical parity that her wrestling and grappling work much better, and she obviously used her layoff to improve her striking to a quite effective level. She broke Victoria Leonardo’s arm in her UFC debut, and after outlasting and scoring a brutal body kick knockout of Sijara Eubanks in December, Gatto is shockingly one of the best prospects in an increasingly deep division. She should also be a tough challenge for Cortez, particularly if the DWCS alum’s cardio issues hold over from the Kish fight. Gatto is a venomous enough grappler to either dissuade Cortez from wrestling or make her work to control the fight on the mat, and at this point, the Brazilian looks like the more potent and effective fighter on the feet. Cortez could just prove to be a stronger athlete and take things over, particularly since Gatto can often be content to stay on her back and work for submissions. However, the bet is that Gatto proves too slippery and gets in plenty of effective offense.
FEELY'S PREDICTION: Though both women are fighters to watch going forward, the pick is Gatto via decision.
Williams vs. Brown
Trinaldo vs. Roberts
Dumont vs. Chiasson
Royvall vs. Schnell
Ivanov vs. Rogerio de Lima
Fialho vs. VanCamp
Cortez vs. Gatto
Rodrigues vs. Vergara
Godinez vs. Carnelossi
Garcia vs. Newson
Continue Reading » Rodrigues vs. Vergara