Melissa Croden sees top 15 ranking on final UFC card of 2025 | BJPenn.com

Melissa Croden will take on Luana Santos on the December 13 UFC Fight Night in what is the promotion’s final card of 2025. With Santos ranked 15th in the 135-pound division, ‘Scare’ Croden could find herself down the rankings heading into 2026. When she got her thoughts on what that would mean for her right now, Croden said [via MMA Canada],

“Yes. I mean, again, it’s something different; it’s something new to think about. It’s something new to think about and achieve new goals, right? Like I think it would be, from what I understand, like me being successful against Luana.” [Santos] then I would possibly be in the top 15 after my second fight in the UFC.”

“That is, you know, I feel like it’s a fast track to that top 10, who knows? If things go well, like I could be in the top 10 pretty quickly if I keep finding these successful moments. So I’m ready for the ride. You know, if God wills it and that’s what I have to do, then I’m ready for it.”

Melissa Croden is looking forward to the challenges Luana Santos will present at UFC Vegas 112

When assessing the skills and overall resume of her next opponent Santos, another who is coming off a win over Tainara Lisboa. Now that Santos has been in the UFC for a while, with several previous ones LFA experience, when she gave her thoughts on Santos’ resume and overall skills heading into this fight, Croden said [via MMA Canada],

“She is versatile. Yes, I respect her a lot as a fellow martial artist. I know she specializes in judo. So that’s what everyone will be [working on] if you were to prepare against her. Like everyone’s going to focus on defense, with those throws and stuff, and wall work and stuff like that.”

“So when people are specialists in that area, you have to shift your thinking to being afraid of ‘oh what are they so good at’, rather than ‘okay, they spent so much time getting good at one thing, which means they haven’t spent much time on other aspects of the fight game,’ so. But either way, she’s well rounded.”

“She knows what she’s doing there. She’s doing really well in her fights. She’s coming from 125, like she has most of her fights at 125, I believe. So I think again I’ll have the size advantage, but you know, that doesn’t always mean everything, right? Like I’m well aware of my strengths and weaknesses against this particular person. So I’m very excited about the challenge. Like, I’m happy that she’s good because if I do well, it means just that much more, you know you?