A battle of strawweight prospects turned into a lopsided striking battle, with Amanda Ribas coming out on top against Mackenzie Dern at UFC Tampa.
Mackenzie Dern was one of the most bright strawweight prospects following her signing to the UFC in 2018. She followed up with a split decision win over Ashley Yoder, and a submission win over Amanda Bobby Cooper after missing weight by nearly ten pounds. Following her controversial fight against Cooper, she took over a year and a half off due to having her first child. This is the undefeated Dern’s first fight of 2019.
Ribas is also an interesting Brazilian prospect. The 26-year-old made her UFC debut earlier this year, earning a second-round submission victory over Emily Whitmire. The win moved her to 7-1 in her career.
Ribas opened the fight with a big right hand that moved Dern back after she began moving forward. Dern recovered, however, she then ate another clean right, followed by another one. Dern had the speed but just kept coming up short on her punches. Dern got the brief takedown but Ribas jumped back to her feet and landed a spinning back kick. Ribas landed a giant left-right combination, then hit Dern with a beautiful hip toss. Dern was content to keep Ribas in her guard for the rest of the round.
Dern opened the round with a failed takedown attempt, Ribas then responded with another combination that snapped Dern’s head back. Dern recovered, and soon landed a right hand of her own, before another failed takedown attempt. Dern repeatedly threw the same 1-2, and Ribas would counter it beautifully every time. Dern shot for a takedown in the final minute of the round, however, she would end up on bottom again. Ribas stood up and continued to tag Dern until the round came to a close.
Ribas did the same thing in the third that she did for the first two rounds, countering Dern’s same combo repeatedly. Dern shot for a takedown about two minutes into the round and ended up on bottom again. Ribas fed her some elbows for her trouble and decided to stand up. Dern just couldn’t overcome the reach disadvantage, and Ribas kept landing the right hand and kept Dern off of her with her jab, which she used beautifully in the third round. Ribas ended the fight with a great flurry, cementing her victory.
Amanda Ribas def. Mackenzie Dern by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
