Just prior to the UFC Vegas 61 official weigh-ins on Friday, promotion officials announced that one fight had been scratched.
That, as it turns out, is the women’s strawweight fight between former title challenger Jessica Penne, and Brazil’s “Baby Shark” Tabatha Ricci. UFC broadcaster and weigh-in host Jon Anik cited an illness suffered by Penne as the reason for the bout’s cancellation.
There’s currently no word on the nature of Penne’s illness, nor whether the UFC will opt to re-book the fight further down the line.
Since serving a lengthy suspension imposed by USADA from 2017 to 2021, Jessica Penne has posted a 2-1 record, and was entering the fight off a loss to former Invicta FC champ Emily Ducote. Ricci, who previously fought in LFA, is 2-1 in the UFC overall, and was coming off two straight wins.
Taking place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 1, 2022, UFC Vegas 61 now moves forward with the following 12 fights:
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Francisco Trinaldo vs. Randy Brown
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Trevin Jones
- Sodiq Yusuff vs. Don Shainis
- John Castañeda vs. Daniel Santos
- Mike Davis vs. Viacheslav Borshchev
- Aleksei Oleinik vs. Ilir Latifi
- Joaquim Silva vs. Jesse Ronson
- Krzysztof Jotko vs. Brendan Allen
- Maxim Grishin vs. Philipe Lins
- Julija Stoliarenko vs. Chelsea Chandler
- Guido Cannetti vs. Randy Costa
