Anna Melisano is putting the bandana back on earlier than expected.
“The Ultimate Fighter 33” hasn’t even finished airing, and while Melisano (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) came up short early in her goal to win the season, she finds herself on the UFC roster anyway.
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“It’s been insane because coming out of the house, I was so down and I was like, ‘I can’t believe I just went on this show and put on that crap of a performance, and that just derailed my dreams for at least another year. I’m gonna have to wait till next season of Contenders,'” Melisano told MMA Junkie. “All these thoughts were going through my head, and then out of nowhere, God was like, ‘Chill, I got you.'”
God spoke through former UFC fighter Eryk Anders, who now manages her for Iridium Sports Agency. Weeks after the episode aired in which Melisano, the No. 1 pick by coach Michael Bisping, was upset by a first-round submission by Melissa Amaya, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard offered her a short-notice opportunity.
Melisano, 29, will take on Brazil’s Dione Barbosa (9-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) on the UFC Fight Night 280 preliminary card Saturday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. The fight will be up a weight class for Melisano, who typically competes at strawweight.
“I knew who she was,” Melisano said. “Obviously she wasn’t on my radar. I’m a strawweight, so I tend to just steer towards the strawweights when I’m doing film study and stuff like that. But she’s been at the PI a couple of times, the same time as I have. I’ve seen her fight, so I knew who she was, but I wasn’t too familiar with her.”
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“… It’s very exciting for me. Obviously, everyone in the UFC is good. We’re past the point in time where you can just be a slack fighter and still get signed. So, I think coming into the big show, I knew that. What excites me the most is I’ve always been obsessed since I was a kid. It just, I want to be the best. Like, no matter what I do, I want to be the best at this. I’ve never, never turned down a fight, never steered away from fights. I’ve always wanted the toughest fights because that’s the only way I’m going to know my true self and where I stand. I think that’s probably the coolest thing about fighting is cause you can’t hide from yourself, you can’t hide from that true you.”
