Victoria Leonardo’s two UFC appearances to date have been eerily similar: Each has ended with a broken arm.
At UFC 265 on Saturday, Leonardo (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) stepped into the cage for the first time since she suffered a broken ulna Jan. 20 against Manon Fiorot only to have history repeat itself. Her fight against Melissa Gatto was stopped by the cageside doctor following an examination in between Round 2 and Round 3.
“You feel that?” the doctor asked. “That’s broken.”
Leonardo offered to compete with the injury. “I can fight through it,” Leonardo said. “I’m good.”
However, the doctor and referee Jacob Montalvo quickly nixed any idea Leonardo would fight with such an injury. The fight was waved off.
No doubting the toughness of @VLeo0216.
Doctor stops this one after round 2️⃣. #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/dkZGabeKjL
— UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2021
While the point of injury was not revealed by Leonardo, Gatto (7-0-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) speculated post-fight it occurred in the first round when she used a kimura to sweep Leonardo.
With the loss, Leonardo is now on a two-fight losing skid since she signed with the promotion off a successful Dana White’s Contender Series performance in 2020. Gatto’s win came in her long-awaited UFC debut since her signing in 2018.
UFC 265 took place Saturday at Toyota Center. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
