Tag: Amanda Ribas

Report: Mackenzie Dern To Headline First UFC Event Of 2025

UFC strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern’s next fight will no longer be a year-ending clash in Tampa — it’ll be a year-opening assignment in Las Vegas. Dern (14-5) has had an inconsistent run in recent years and entered her most recent outing in Abu Dhabi this past August off the back of consecutive losses at the […]

UFC strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern’s next fight will no longer be a year-ending clash in Tampa — it’ll be a year-opening assignment in Las Vegas.

Dern (14-5) has had an inconsistent run in recent years and entered her most recent outing in Abu Dhabi this past August off the back of consecutive losses at the hands of Jéssica Andrade and Amanda Lemos.

But the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist successfully avoided the first three-fight losing skid of her career, outpointing Loopy Godinez to return to winning ways. And Dern initially looked set for the chance to end the year on a streak.

She was booked for the opportunity to avenge her first professional defeat in a rematch with Amanda Ribas (13-5) at the UFC Fight Night in Tampa next weekend. The Brazilian is currently ranked two places below Dern at #8.

Per MMA Mania’s Alex Behunin, however, that second dance has been pushed back and will instead now top the lineup for UFC Vegas 101 at the Apex on Jan. 11.

For Ribas, the rematch will mark her return to 115 pounds after suffering defeat to Rose Namajunas last time out at flyweight, another division in which she occupies a spot inside the top 10.

In her last appearance as a strawweight, the 31-year-old stopped Luana Pinheiro in highlight reel fashion with a late spinning wheel kick. She’s riding back-to-back wins in the weight class, having previously got the better of a top-five contender in Virna Jandiroba.

With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at UFC Vegas 101 on Jan. 11 are as follows:

  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas (women’s strawweight main event)
  • Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov (middleweight)
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Carlston Harris (welterweight)
  • Thiago Moisés vs. Trey Ogden (lightweight)
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. César Almeida (middleweight)
  • Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez (featherweight)
  • Nurullo Aliev vs. Yanal Ashmouz (lightweight)
  • Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Nicolle Caliari (women’s flyweight)
  • Punahele Soriano vs. Uroš Medi? (welterweight)
  • Jose Johnson vs. Felipe Bunes (flyweight)
  • Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes (light heavyweight)
  • Andreas Gustafsson vs. Preston Parsons (welterweight)
  • Victoria Dudakova vs. Fatima Kline (women’s strawweight)

Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern 2 booked for December Showdown at UFC Fight Night Tampa

Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern 2A rematch five years in the making, Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern 2 has been booked for December 14…

Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern 2

A rematch five years in the making, Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern 2 has been booked for December 14 live from Tampa, Florida, part of UFC Fight Night 249.

Amanda Ribas vs. Mackenzie Dern

In 2019, Brazil’s Amanda Ribas was able to earn a lopsided unanimous decision victory against Jiu-Jitsu standout Mackenzie Dern. Since then, both fighters have earned a solid spot ranked in the top ten and will be looking to potentially break into the top five with a victory.

Mackenzie Dern
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 10: Mackenzie Dern poses on the scale during the UFC 295 ceremonial weigh-in at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 10, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The 30-year-old Ribas has been training out of the American Top Team to sharpen her already top-quality skills when it comes to Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In her UFC run, she has been able to defeat notable opponents such as Mackenzie Dern, Paige VanZant, Virna Jandiroba, and Viviane Araújo, among others. Most recently, she is coming off of a loss to former champion Rose Namajunas.

Amanda Ribas

The fan-favorite Mackenzie Dern struggled in her early UFC career to keep her weight steady, but since then has been solid when it comes to the scales and cage work. With her background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, she has been able to defeat Angela Hill, Tecia Torres, Nina Nunes, and more. In her most recent bout, she was able to defeat the highly respected grappler Loopy Godinez.

Both of these fighters have a Jiu-Jitsu base but have developed some impressive striking as well. Dern is recognized for her solid jab and the power in her overhand. Last year, Ribas was able to earn a TKO victory with a shocking spinning backkick against Luana Pinheiro.

The Brazilian-American Mackenzie Dern will be looking to avenge her prior loss to the highly skilled Amanda Ribas when they rematch on December 14 at a UFC Fight Night Event. No other bouts are currently booked for this event just yet.

UFC star Amanda Ribas reveals ‘Crazy’ encounter with creepy stalker: ‘He told people I was his wife’

Amanda Ribas reveals creep encounter with crazy stalker he tried to tell people I was his wife UFCUFC fighter Amanda Ribas had a recent encounter with a stalker. Ribas says before her UFC Vegas 89 main…

Amanda Ribas reveals creep encounter with crazy stalker he tried to tell people I was his wife UFC

UFC fighter Amanda Ribas had a recent encounter with a stalker.

Ribas says before her UFC Vegas 89 main event against Rose Namajunas, a Ukrainian man reportedly tried to meet Ribas multiple times. The Brazilian says she met the man during her UFC 251 fight week against Paige VanZant.

Since then, Ribas says the man has been trying to meet her and contact him, which has creeped her out.

Amanda Ribas

“I don’t remember his name, but he was a bit of a crazy guy,” Amanda Ribas told Ag. Fight (via MMAFighting). “On the first day, I arrived at the hotel — usually the fans are there for us to sign something, take a picture — but this citizen was a little crazy. He kept screaming, ‘Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.’ That same day, the guy at the front desk called my room and said, ‘Amanda, Alex is here wanting to go upstairs.’ Except that Alex is the name of my manager. I said, ‘Hey, the sensei is here now’. He went and said a crazy last name, I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I thought that was kind of weird.

“The next day, when we arrived again at the reception, the young man was waiting. But he said he wanted to talk to me, and I said I couldn’t at the moment. He spoke to my father, handed him a letter, a bracelet and a teddy bear. So far, so normal, because it’s something that happens. I even like it, I love to get gifts. Then I read in the letter that he was in love with me as a man since 2020, that he met me in Abu Dhabi.”

“We went to do some research. This young man, on his social network, it was written that I was his wife, that he lived in such and such a country and was going to move to [my hometown] Varginha [Minas Gerais, Brazil]. There was a picture of a teddy bear, everyone in my family, saying, ‘This is Marcelo, this is Arthur, this is Mirelly, this is Amanda, my wife’. I had some crazy business.”

Amanda Ribas

Along with the gifts, the fighter reportedly got into the UFC PI and told people he was Amanda Ribas’ wife.

“The other day, this citizen managed to get into the P.I., I don’t know how, and he was telling people that I was his wife,” Ribas laughed. “[My manager] Alex [Davis] found out about it first, then he told me. Then he notified the UFC and they left a security guard with me 24 hours a day to be even more protected. It seems that they found out that he is a fighter, and he couldn’t fight in an event because he had taken a sword (laughs).”

Amanda Ribas Coming Off Loss To Rose Namajunas

In her last fight at UFC Vegas 91, Amanda Ribas suffered a five-round decision loss to Rose Namajuans.

Ribas has alternated wins and losses in seven fights, as she’s 3-4 during that stretch and is 7-4 overall in the UFC. Before the loss to Namajunas, Ribas scored a knockout win over Luana Pinheiro. In her UFC career, Amanda Ribas has notable wins over Paige VanZant, Mackenzie Dern, and Viviane Araujo.

Amanda Ribas reveals creep encounter with crazy stalker he tried to tell people I was his wife UFC
Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell – USA TODAY Sports

Ribas is currently ranked eighth at strawweight and ninth at flyweight as she’s been competing in both weight classes. She does not have her next fight booked.

Rose Namajunas scores first flyweight win with dominant performance against Amanda Ribas – UFC Vegas 89 Highlights

Rose Namajunas‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas got her first win at flyweight on Saturday night, besting top-ten-ranked contender Amanda Ribas in an…

Rose Namajunas

‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas got her first win at flyweight on Saturday night, besting top-ten-ranked contender Amanda Ribas in an entertaining back-and-forth scrap at UFC Vegas 89.

After coming up short against Manon Fiorot in her 125-pound debut, Namajunas looked as sharp as ever throughout her 25-minute affair with the Brazilian beauty. Ribas undeniably held her own in her first-ever UFC main event, but her continued reliance on spinning attacks made her offense predictable enough for Namajunas to sit on the outside and use her speed to get in and get out quickly.

The biggest difference-maker on the night was Namajunas’ control time which eclipsed more than six minutes through the five-round bout.

Rose Namajunas vs. Amanda Ribas

Official Result: Rose Namajunas def. Amanda Ribas via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)

With the win, Namajunas should find herself ranked in the flyweight division’s top 10 come Monday morning. Overall, she improved to 9-5 inside the Octagon, 11-6 overall. As for what comes next, the former two-time strawweight champion will have an eye on next week’s clash between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot in Atlantic City.

Check Out Highlights From Rose Namajunas vs. Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 89:

Report – Ex-Champion Rose Namajunas set for return in March fight with Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 88

Rose Namajunas set for fight with Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 88 in MarchFormer two-time undisputed strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas is reportedly set for her return to the Octagon at a UFC…

Rose Namajunas set for fight with Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 88 in March

Former two-time undisputed strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas is reportedly set for her return to the Octagon at a UFC Vegas 88 event on March 23. from the UFC Apex facility – taking on Brazilian contender, Amanda Ribas in a flyweight clash.

Namajunas, a former two-time undisputed strawweight champion under the banner of the promotion, has been sidelined since she co-headlined UFC Paris back in September in a flyweight division debut, dropping a decision loss to home town favorite, Manon Fiorot.

Rose Namajunas books March fight with Amanda Ribas

As for Ribas, the number nine ranked flyweight contender returned to the winner’s enclosure at UFC Vegas 82 last November, stopping compatriot, Luana Pinheiro with a highlight-reel wheel kick and follow-up strikes for a TKO triumph.

News of Rose Namajunas’ sophomore flyweight outing against Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 88 was first reported by X user, MMA Hoje. 

Tasked with snapping a two-fight losing skid in her return to the Octagon in March, prior to her decision loss to Fiorot last September, Namajunas had dropped her undisputed strawweight championship in a rematch with Carla Esparza at UFC 274, in a hugely-forgettable title fight showdown.

11-6 as a professional, first snatching strawweight gold with a shocking opening round knockout win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk back in 2018, Namajunas was stopped with a brutal slam KO against Jessica Andrade in her first attempted title defense.

Avenging that loss to Andrade, Namajunas then bested current champion, Zhang Weili with a blistering high-kick KO just a minute into their 2021 clash. In November of that year at Madison Square Garden, Namajunas bested the Chinese favorite in a close decision rematch.

Over the course of her Octagon tenure, Ribas, a staple of American Top Team has turned in notable triumphs over the likes of Mackenzie Dern, Paige VanZant, Virna Jandiroba, and fellow Brazilian, Viviane Araujo. 

Who wins at UFC Vegas 88 in March: Rose Namajunas or Amanda Ribas?

Maycee Barber TKOs Amanda Ribas in a brutal, bloody brawl – UFC Jacksonville Highlights

Maycee BarberMaycee Barber scored the biggest win of her career in an absolutely thrilling war with fellow flyweight fan favorite Amanda Ribas at UFC Jacksonville. Amanda Ribas came out looking to put the pressure on early, but was it Barber who made her mark in the opening round, landing a series of solid right hands before […]

Maycee Barber

Maycee Barber scored the biggest win of her career in an absolutely thrilling war with fellow flyweight fan favorite Amanda Ribas at UFC Jacksonville.

Amanda Ribas came out looking to put the pressure on early, but was it Barber who made her mark in the opening round, landing a series of solid right hands before delivering a vicious elbow in the clinch that busted open Ribas’ nose. With the blood flowing, the ladies took things to the ground, where Barber dropped a series of bombs before the round came to an end.

Unhappy with being the only one bleeding inside the Octagon, Amanda Ribas landed a stiff right hand that got Barber’s nose leaking like a faucet. Perhaps that was a mistake, as the sight of Barber’s own blood appeared to cause a switch in her intensity. Barber fired back with a brilliantly-timed high kick that connected clean but failed to put Ribas down. Though she was clearly feeling the effects. Ribas began to backpedal at that point which prompted Barber to move in and unleash a flurry of strikes that ultimately sent Ribas crashing to the canvas.

Pouncing on her opponent, Barber delivered a series of ground-and-pound strikes until the referee determined that he had seen enough.

Official Result: Maycee Barber def. Amanda Ribas via TKO (strikes) at 3:42 of Round 2

Check out Highlights from Maycee Barber vs. Amanda Ribas at UFC Jacksonville: