Melissa Gatto VS Ernesta Kareckaitė

The card opener was a gritty flyweight battle that ended in heavy controversy and a rare Majority Draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28). In the opening round, grappling-heavy Melissa Gatto pushed Ernesta Kareckaitė against the fence to secure a takedown. As Gatto elevated her, Kareckaitė blatantly grabbed the cage to prevent the slam and ended up in top position. Referee Chris Tognoni immediately halted the action, took a point from Kareckaitė, and restarted them. This gave Gatto a dominant 10-8 opening round on the scorecards. For the next two rounds, Kareckaitė successfully utilized her 71-inch reach and high striking volume—landing more than double the significant strikes of her opponent—to pick Gatto apart on the feet and stuff subsequent takedown attempts. Though Kareckaitė thoroughly out-struck Gatto and controlled the latter half of the fight, the costly point deduction in the first round ultimately denied her a victory, resulting in a draw.

Melissa Gatto and Ernesta Kareckaitė meet in a women's flyweight prelim where both fighters are seeking their first UFC win over a competitive opponent — Gatto dropped a majority decision to Dione Barbosa in her last outing, and Kareckaitė lost her promotional debut by unanimous decision to the same Dione Barbosa. The shared connection against a common opponent makes this a genuine measuring-stick bout.