Amanda Ribas returns to action at UFC Orlando this weekend, looking to bounce back from a loss to Katlyn Chookagian when she takes on Tracy Cortez.
For Ribas (11-3), ranked #15 in the women’s flyweight division, the match-up isn’t striker versus grappler, but rather smart fighter versus smart fighter.
“I think it is a fight of the smart fighters, because I think Tracy is a really smart fighter, and I am too,” Ribas stated during Wednesday’s UFC Orlando media day. “So this will be a fight.”
As to how that fight plays out, sticking to the game plan and implementing that strategy will be key for both fighters, Ribas believes.
“I think it will be both a fight, but we can show our striking too. I was watching and studying Tracy a lot, and for me, her best point is because she is smart. And she can do [her] strategy from the beginning to the end of the fight,” Ribas explained. “She throws punches too, and for me, I need to be careful of that, and put [on] my game [plan].”
Sticking to the script from the beginning of a fight to the end is “hard, because sometimes we put our emotions [into it],” Ribas admitted, “and that is a little hard. Especially for me, because I start listening to the crowd screaming at me ‘yes!’ I need to all the time be calm, be calm, and strategy, strategy.”
The crowd will in fact be back in the house at the Amway Center in Orlando this Saturday, though it’s something she has tried to emulate in training. “Oh my goodness, you need to see the video of our training,” she noted, mimicking a whole lot of cheering. Will it prep her for the real thing? In a few days, we’ll know for sure.
Amanda Ribas faces Tracy Cortez at UFC Orlando this Saturday, December 3, 2022. The card airs live on ESPN in the U.S.
