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Melisano steps in for injured Hardy to face Barbosa at UFC Oklahoma City

Anna Melisano replaces Veronica Hardy against Dione Barbosa at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18 after Hardy suffered a training cut. Melisano, Michael Bisping's first pick on TUF 34, is 6-1 as a professional.

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Melisano steps in for injured Hardy to face Barbosa at UFC Oklahoma City
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Anna Melisano will step in to face Dione Barbosa at UFC Oklahoma City on July 18, replacing Veronica Hardy after Hardy was forced off the card due to a cut sustained in training. Both fighters confirmed the change on social media following an initial report from Marcel Dorff.

Melisano, 29, is 6-1 as a professional and was most recently seen on The Ultimate Fighter 34, where she was coach Michael Bisping’s first strawweight pick. Her TUF run ended in the first round via submission against Melissa Amaya, but she now gets the chance to build momentum on a UFC event card.

Her opponent, Dione Barbosa (9-4), has gone 3-2 inside the UFC and arrives on the back of a decision win over Melissa Gatto in April. Known as “The Witch”, Barbosa has alternated between wins and losses since joining the promotion and will be looking to string consecutive victories together for the first time under the UFC banner.

The event takes place at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City and is headlined by a five-round middleweight clash between former UFC champions Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman.

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