The co-main event of UFC Macau tomorrow morning will feature the homecoming for a former title challenger. China’s Yan Xiaonan (18-4) gets the opportunity to fight in front of her home country as she takes on 10th ranked strawweight Tabatha “Baby Shark” Ricci (11-2).
Lets start out with Tabatha Ricci. She made her UFC debut back in 2021 when she was undefeated. She fought at flyweight and lost her debut against Manon Fiorot. Immediately after that loss, Ricci dropped to strawweight and she’s gone 6-1 since then. Her last two wins have been decision wins over Tecia Pennington and Angela Hill.
She faces a very tough challenge tomorrow in Yan Xiaonan. Xiaonan made her octagon debut back in 2017 and immediately won her first six fights. She was only a win away from a title shot when she lost back-to-back fights against Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez.
However, she bounced back well winning against Mackenzie Dern then knocking out former champion Jessica Andrade to earn a title shot. At UFC 300, she faced China’s Zhang Weili for the strawweight title. Xiaonan showed incredible toughness in that matchup and at times gave Weili some trouble, but she ultimately fell short in her quest to become champion.
UFC Macau Prediction
Tabatha Ricci has really relied on her cardio and pressure throughout her six UFC wins. She has good skills, but it just seems like she hasn’t advanced that much in terms of those overall skills. Instead, she relies on her pace and pressure to break opponents down and win a decision.
Her biggest challenge is going to be getting ahold of Xiaonan and not letting the former title challenger get off. The problem is, I don’t know if she can do that. I think this fight will be at range enough where you’ll see just how good Yan Xiaonan is.
I think Ricci might steal a round, but after three rounds at UFC Macau, I really see Xiaonan clearly winning two of them. She’s just too sharp and fast on the feet. The big moments with the crowd behind her will carry her to the victory.
Prediction: Yan Xiaonan by Decision