UFC on ABC 9: Amanda Ribas vs Tabatha Ricci

Tabatha Ricci’s rising trajectory in the strawweight division hit full speed when she delivered a devastating second-round knockout over Amanda Ribas at UFC on ABC 9. Locked in a gritty clinch against the cage, Ricci harnessed her Muay Thai precision and unleashed a savage elbow—lighting up the moment as Ribas collapsed, prompting quick ground-and-pound to seal the victory. Ricci’s emphatic win marked her third triumph in four fights, while Ribas stumbled into her third straight loss.

The opening exchanges saw both athletes feeling each other out with calculated striking and judo-influenced level changes. Ribas aimed to impose her longer reach and experience, crisp in her combinations and aggressive in the grappling transitions. Ricci, nicknamed “Baby Shark,” absorbed the pressure with intent, redirecting Ribas’s timing and waiting patiently for a decisive opening—a strategy that paid off handsomely when the clinch moment arrived.

Once the fight hit the clinch, Ricci’s control became the central story. Her wrestling and ground stability allowed incremental damage and positional dominance until she found the perfect moment to unleash the fight‑ending elbow. It was a textbook example of cutting off the cage, neutralizing strikes, and finishing with brutal efficiency—an embodiment of her grappling intensity combined with striking craft.

The stoppage ended the fight with dramatic emphasis and shifted the momentum of Ricci’s career. Previously coming off a decision loss to Yan Xiaonan, she bounced back in emphatic fashion. Meanwhile, Ribas—once a top-10 fixture in strawweight and flyweight—now faces her third consecutive setback. Ricci’s victory adds fuel to her climb toward the top 10, while Ribas must reassess her approach and adapt if she hopes to regain her position in the division.

This fight underscored the brutality and artfulness of Muay Thai in MMA’s elite spaces: timing, pressure, and striking power won the day. Tabatha Ricci demonstrated her evolution into a complete and dangerous threat inside the cage; Amanda Ribas came prepared but fell victim to precision and poise—making it one of the standout finishes of UFC on ABC 9.