Beatriz Mesquita enters June 20 in Las Vegas with something new beside her name: a place in the top 15. Her next fight against Melissa Mullins will be her first UFC bout as a ranked fighter, and it comes with the kind of step up that can change how the division reads her.
Mesquita and the top 15
Mesquita said she saw the ranking post on Instagram while she was on her way to the gym to spar. She checked the UFC website after Marcos da Matta pointed her there, then celebrated when the top-15 listing held up.
“I got into the top 15 on my birthday, but I wasn’t sure that it was true,” Mesquita said. “He looked at it, laughed at me, and said, ‘Just look at the website. If it’s true, it’s gonna be there,’”
Las Vegas and Melissa Mullins
The bout with Mullins is Mesquita’s third appearance inside the Octagon. It arrives on June 20 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, giving her another quick read on where she stands after entering the rankings so early in her UFC run.
Mesquita first fought in UFC last October in Rio de Janeiro, then followed that debut with a first-round submission over Montse Rendon in Las Vegas. She landed a right hand that wobbled Rendon, then worked to the back and locked up a rear-naked choke to finish the fight.
Fast pace after five months
That win in Las Vegas came after a five-month wait, even though Mesquita had wanted to fight again within two or three months. The gap stretched longer than she wanted, but she stayed active in training and kept the focus on moving quickly.
“It’s amazing,” Mesquita said of getting another fight quickly. “That’s how I want to keep going — fast-paced.” She added that more fights mean more experience and a faster path toward the top, and she also said the latest camp improved because she returned to training after the win, helped with Michelle Montague’s camp, and then shifted back to her own work.
For Mesquita, the ranking is the change; the next fight is the test. A ranked spot only counts if she can hold it, and Mullins is the opponent set to tell whether the jump from debut winner to top-15 fighter has real weight.
