Sarah Moras vs. Vanessa Melo is the first female fight of the year at UFC Fight Island 7 on Saturday, January 16, 2021 on ESPN+.

This fight will be in the female’s bantamweight (135lb) division. Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras enters this fight with a 6-6-0 professional record. Moras has recently changed her camp and is now fighting out of Xtreme Couture. Moras’ current record in the UFC is 3-5-0. Moras’ last loss was to Sijara Eubanks. Other notable losses were to Macy Chiasson, Talita Bernardo and Lucie Pudilova. Even though Moras’ record doesn’t indicate success, she has fought significantly better competitors than Melo. 

Vanessa “Miss Simpatia” Melo is in a similar situation as Moras. She is fighting out of the camp Thai Fight. Melo enters this fight with a professional record of 10-8-0 and a record of  0-3-0 since joining the UFC. Melo had a brutal debut when she fought Irene Aldana, which would be a tough fight for any bantamweight contender. Other losses in the UFC have been to Tracey Cortez and Karol Rosa. 

Both of these fighters are currently at a crossroad and are potentially fighting for their jobs. With the UFC rapidly making cuts, this is a must win for Moras and Melo. 

Sarah Moras’ strengths are grappling, cardio, judo and wrestling. Furthermore, her recent transition to camp Xtreme Couture should be beneficial to her based on her access to more skilled training partners. Moras struggles with landing takedowns when she fights better wrestlers or grapplers. Fortunately for Moras, Melo’s strengths are not wrestling and grappling. Moras struggles with her striking. Her striking is extremely awkward and somewhat unorthodox. Moras’ game plan is to get the fight to the ground as quickly as possible. If Melo is able to defend the takedown during the first round, Moras will need to continue with her takedown attempts. History has proven that once Melo is on her back, she has a lot of trouble getting back on her feet. This should be a huge issue for Melo, especially against a fighter with the wrestling abilities of Moras.

Vanessa Melo doesn’t have one specific attribute that should pose a significant threat to Moras other than her striking. This fight truly comes down to who is going to be the better wrestler. If Moras is able to land a takedown on Melo within the first minute of the fight, it will be a long night for Melo. If Melo is able to successfully defend the takedowns, she could potentially win a round, but as the fight progresses, the combination of Moras’s cardio, judo and wrestling skills should lead her to win this fight easily. 

I pick Sarah Moras to win this fight.