Tabatha Ricci secured her spot in the strawweight top 10 with an impressive performance against Angela Hill in the UFC Vegas 96 co-main event on Saturday night.
Ricci came out aggressive from the opening bell, pushing the pace and looking to land on ‘Overkill’ early. Hill struggled to get anything going in the opening round as Ricci kept her on her back foot.
15 seconds into the second round, Ricci secured a quick takedown and dropped a couple of hammer fists before getting into Hill’s guard. Second-guessing her decision, Ricci retreated and forced Hill back to her feet. Things were fairly even on the feet with Hill outstriking Ricci by a slim margin.
Perhaps sensing how close things were in the second, Ricci scored a late-round takedown. However, Hill was able to pop back up and pepper ‘Baby Shark’ with a few solid strikes just before the horn.
Ricci once again went for an early takedown, but Hill was able to sprawl and turn it into a takedown attempt of her own. Ricci responded by kicking Hill straight off her and getting back to her feet. Potentially down two rounds, Hill began to turn up the heat, but Ricci’s work in the clinch did a good job of stifling her offense at times.
After trading blows up until the final bell, we went to the judge’s scorecards to determine our winner.
Official Result: Tabatha Ricci def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Check out highlights from Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci at UFC Vegas 96:
Oficial, @TabathaRicci derrota a Angela Hill por decisión unánime #UFCVegas96
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