SAN JOSE, Calif. – Keri Melendez continued the perfect start to her pro career with a win Saturday – though it was more work than she likely wanted it to be.

Melendez (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) took a split decision from Dakota Zimmerman (1-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) on the Bellator 206 main card at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Melendez said Zimmerman’s strength surprised her a little and may have contributed to her needing to go all three rounds to get her hand raised instead of finishes like in her first two pro fights.

“I was surprised that she was pretty strong,” Melendez said at the post-event news conference. “I came out a little flat – I’ve been fighting a sickness, and I was just happy to make it through today. … She was holding on to me pretty tight. I think her holding on to me and not really working much, it did throw me off. I was pretty tired from being sick.”

Melendez, the wife of former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, said the split call took her a little by surprise, though.

“I thought I got the win,” she said. “I was confident I got the win. I was surprised it was a split decision. I didn’t have the best performance, but I definitely thought I was the winner.”

But like a lot of fighters do after going the distance for the first time, Melendez said the time in the cage will be what she takes away from the win over Zimmerman, even though she might not be thrilled with the result being a split decision.

“I almost wasn’t going to make it to this fight, so just pulling through and getting the ‘W’ and going all three rounds, getting that experience in the cage was crucial to me,” she said. “I’m happy about it.”

For more from Melendez, including where she’d like to fight if she gets another call from Bellator before the year’s out, check out the video above.

For more on Bellator 206, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.