The UFC is currently working to finalize a big time women’s strawweight matchup. MMA Fighting was the first to report this afternoon that the promotion was working to finalize Amanda Ribas (11-2) and Michelle Waterson (18-9).
The proposed matchup would take place at a UFC Fight Night on March 26th. Ribas will be looking for her second consecutive win after suffering her first loss in the UFC. That first loss came back in January when Ribas was stopped in the second round by Marina Rodriguez.
That loss snapped a five-fight winning streak for Ribas which included four wins in the UFC. In her last fight against Virna Jandiroba, Ribas looked sensational on the feet. Her striking was her downfall in the Rodriguez fight. However, she completely outclassed Jandiroba on the feet.
Originally, Ribas was supposed to take on Waterson back at UFC 257 when she fought Rodriguez. However, Waterson had to pull out of the fight. Now, these two top contenders will finally meet in a highly anticipated matchup.
Standing across from Ribas is the UFC’s Karate Hottie, Michelle Waterson. Waterson has always been a really tough contender at 115, but she’s never quite reached the pinnacle. Recently, she’s fell on some tough times in the strawweight division.
Over her last four fights, Waterson is just 1-3. That said, two of the losses came against former UFC champions. The other loss came against Marina Rodriguez in a main event back in May. Waterson held her own, but Rodriguez proved to be too much for The Karate Hottie.
This is another tough test for Waterson. Ribas is going to be dangerous wherever the fight takes place. Conventional wisdom would have you believe that Waterson would have the advantage on the feet. However, Ribas’ improvement there might make you think twice.
This should be a tremendous strawweight fight and whoever wins will put themselves in a really good position to move up the rankings.
This post was published on 2021-12-06 15:41
