Amanda Ribas already has a new opponent lined up for UFC 257.
It didn’t take long for the UFC to find a replacement for Amanda Ribas, as MMA Fighting reports that the Brazilian will now take on Marina Rodriguez at UFC 257 following Michelle Waterson’s withdrawal from the strawweight bout earlier this week.
Waterson, 34, pulled out of the contest on Tuesday for undisclosed reasons.
The new matchup hasn’t been finalized but Ribas and Rodriguez have both verbally agreed to fight. All that’s left is for both fighters to sign on the dotted line to make it official.
Ribas, 27, is on a five-fight win streak and holds notable wins over Mackenzie Dern and Paige VanZant. The No. 9-ranked strawweight is undefeated in the UFC and has only lost once in her professional career.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, is looking to rebound from her split decision loss to former UFC strawweight queen Carla Esparza at UFC on ESPN 14. The 33-year-old is 2-1-2 since making her UFC debut in 2018, notching wins over Jessica Aguilar and Tecia Torres but fighting to majority draws against Randa Markos and Cynthia Calvillo.
UFC 257, which is expected to feature a rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier as the main event, will take place on Jan. 23 at a TBD location.