Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Flyweight talents Maycee Barber and Amanda Ribas will throw down this weekend (Sat., June 24, 2023) at UFC Jacksonville inside Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Barber’s plans to become the youngest UFC champion didn’t quite pan out, in part due to a nasty knee injury that sidelined her for about a year. Fortunately, the 25-year-old slugger still has plenty of time to climb the ladder, and her current four-fight win streak has inserted her well into the Top 15. Conversely, Ribas is just three fights into her 125-pound UFC career, but a huge win over Viviane Araujo last time out skyrocketed her into the Top 10. Now that she’s more firmly established at Flyweight, Ribas can start looking to build her case for a title shot sooner than later.
Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each woman:
Maycee Barber
Record: 12-2
Key Wins: Andrea Lee (UFC San Antonio), Jessica Eye (UFC 276), Gillian Robertson (UFC on ESPN 6), JJ Aldrich (UFC Fight Night 148)
Key Losses: Alexa Grasso (UFC 258), Roxeanne Modafferi (UFC 246)
Keys to Victory: Barber’s technical game has shown a lot of growth in her last few fights. Since her competitive loss to Grasso, Barber has really doubled down on improving her kickboxing, becoming a better range striker to accompany her aggressive clinch game.
Like her match up vs. Montana De La Rosa, this is clearly a sprawl-and-brawl fight for Barber. Ribas is super slick on the canvas, and historically, Barber has had some issues being held down on bottom. It’s clear where each woman will want this fight, and whoever is able to force where the fight goes will surely be victorious.
I’d like to see Barber putting Ribas on her back foot here. It’s harder to wrestle while moving backward, and Ribas doesn’t have the most athletic shot anyway. If Barber can keep her level low and apply consistent pressure, it should go a long way in helping her avoid the takedown.
In addition, Barber has to punish attempts to close the distance. Ribas likes to wrestle from the clinch, where Barber is downright nasty with elbows and knees. Any time the Brazilian tries, Barber should be explaining to her why that’s a bad idea with something unpleasant.
Amanda Ribas
Record: 12-3
Key Wins: Mackenzie Dern (UFC Fight Night 161), Viviane Araujo (UFC 284), Virna Jandiroba (UFC 267), Paige VanZant (UFC 251), Randa Markos (UFC Fight Night 170)
Key Losses: Katlyn Chookagian (UFC Vegas 54), Marina Rodriguez (UFC 257), Polyana Viana (Jungle Fight 83)
Keys to Victory: Ribas is a black belt in both Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. On the feet, she’s something of a glass cannon, as she has some solid snap in her punches but also truly awful striking defense that gets her in trouble fairly often.
Given that Barber can put together combinations and hit hard, the pressure is on Ribas to plant her on the canvas. Historically, Barber isn’t the easiest to throw from the clinch, where her physicality is an important factor. However, she does have a habit of running forward as she throws, which has left her off-balance to respond to takedowns below the waist and double leg trips.
Last time out, Andrea Lee managed to score several takedowns against Barber but failed to do much with them. Ribas has the ground expertise to capitalize on this same positions by landing big shots and threatening submissions, so if she can just land her takedowns, Ribas should be able to remain in control.
Bottom Line
A Top 10 spot is on the line, as well as a chance to break into the title mix.
Victory here would be major for Barber, her fifth straight and likely the biggest of her career. In general, women’s Flyweight has heated up a bit in the last couple years, but win streaks of that length remain uncommon. She already has history with the champion, so another big win should start getting her in title shot conversations.
As for Ribas, she’s a popular fighter who’s been in the title picture before at 115 pounds. A second quality victory in a row is enough to move her up the ladder significantly and put her another win or two away from an opportunity at gold.
At UFC Jacksonville, Maycee Barber and Amanda Ribas will collide in the co-main event. Which woman will have her hand raised?
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Jacksonville fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ABC (also on ESPN+) at 3 p.m. ET.
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