Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC Vegas 89 from The APEX in Las Vegas, we are going to see a fun matchup in the women’s flyweight division. Former two-time strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas (11-6) will get her second crack at 125 as she takes on the always entertaining Amanda Ribas (12-4).
Starting with Namajunas, she will look to bounce back after her last fight. In May 2022, Namajunas lost a lackluster decision against Carla Esparza where she lost her strawweight title. That loss came on the heels of back-to-back wins over P4P great and current strawweight champ Zhang Weili.
After the loss, Namajunas stepped away and we weren’t sure if we’d see her back. However, she returned last September at UFC Paris 2 where she took on Manon Fiorot in her flyweight. It was a competitive fight but the size and power disadvantage played a big role in her loss. Now, she’s ready for round two at flyweight and she hopes to climb the ladder towards a title shot.
To do so, she’ll have to defeat top ten contender Amanda Ribas. Ribas is coming off a big TKO win over Luana Pinheiro back in November. After winning her first four UFC bouts, Ribas is 3-3 in her last six, but she has very solid wins in there including wins over Virna Jandiroba and Viviane Araujo. A win over Namajunas though would be the biggest of her career in her first main event.
UFC Vegas 89 Prediction
“Thug” Rose is the type of fighter who does very well when she’s being pressured. When she’s forced to get into a serious fight, that’s when she does her best work. Zhang Weili took the fight to her as did Joanna Jedrzejczyk in their combined four fights. Namajunas went 4-0 in those matchups.
Jessica Andrade took the fight to her and she won a decision against her in one fight and was picking her apart before getting TKO’d by a slam in the other fight. When fights are point matchups and aren’t filled with action, that’s where we see the cracks in the armor. However, Amanda Ribas is going to come after her at UFC Vegas 89.
Ribas fights with speed and pressure. She’s going to force exchanges and she’s going to force Namajunas to grapple. However, I think everything that Ribas will do, will play to the advantage of Namajunas. Namajunas is going to have a ton of success countering the pressure of Ribas in this matchup.
Ultimately, I think Namajunas lands something big in the later rounds and gets a finish to win her first flyweight fight at UFC Vegas 89.
Prediction: Rose Namajunas by TKO – Round 4