Preview: UFC Fight Night 199 Prelims

Women’s Flyweights

NR | Sijara Eubanks (7-6, 5-4 UFC) vs. NR | Melissa Gatto (7-0-2, 1-0 UFC)

ODDS: Eubanks (-170), Gatto (+150)

Perhaps the second run at flyweight is the charm for Eubanks. It was a surprise when Eubanks was announced as part of “The Ultimate Fighter” cast that would decide the UFC’s first women’s flyweight champion. Beyond her inexperience, “Sarj” was also a career bantamweight. Her struggles making weight were a story over the course of the season, though Eubanks kept working her way through the tournament until that thread paid off in the worst way possible, with a botched weight cut putting her in the hospital and taking her out of the inaugural title fight. Eubanks rebounded with two wins but still continued to have struggles with the scale, enough so that she was eventually forced to move back to bantamweight. Her 135-pound UFC run was a mixed bag. Eubanks obviously put in the work to round out her game beyond her wrestling and grappling, but she tired herself out in the process, forming a clear pattern in which she faded throughout her fights. After stalling out with two losses to cap off 2020, Eubanks took some time off and seems to have mastered her weight cut down to 125 pounds. She looked like an absolute monster in beating Elise Reed in July, quickly taking over the fight and pounding out a stoppage in less than four minutes. She will look to continue her momentum against Brazil’s Gatto, who impressed in her long-overdue UFC debut. Gatto was signed by the UFC in 2019, but injuries and United States Anti-Doping Agency issues delayed her debut for over two years, as she finally stepped into the Octagon against Victoria Leonardo in August. Frankly, Gatto’s pre-UFC film from her bantamweight career looked about as bad as that of any debuting prospect. She showed little besides an ability to hunt for submissions from her back, as she was either controlled until she staged a comeback or earned some questionable decisions. However, she apparently put her time off to good use. She looks more capable of physically holding her own at flyweight and proved to be a capable boxer, even if she did so against a subpar athlete in Leonardo. After breaking Leonardo’s arm with an armbar—Leonardo kept fighting until a doctor stoppage between rounds—there is a chance that Gatto can get another win here. If nothing else, she should be able to make Eubanks work on the mat more than Reed did and could exploit her cardio issues in the process. Still, Gatto is not a particularly strong defensive wrestler, and letting Eubanks dictate the terms of this fight seems like a recipe for an early stoppage if she looks anything like she did against Reed. The pick is Eubanks via first-round stoppage.

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