UFC APEX – UFC strawweight Tabatha Ricci has a big test in front of her at UFC Vegas 96 on Saturday night in the form of Angela Hill.
“Got very excited to fight Angela. One more veteran so I was very, very happy about the fight,” Ricci told reporters on Wednesday.
“Actually didn’t know I was going to be the co-main event so I showed up for training and coach (was) like, ‘Do you know you’re going to be the co-main?’. I was like no.”
Ricci (10-2) is coming off a split-decision victory over Tecia Pennington in May. Three months later another veteran in Hill at the APEX could mean gathering momentum for the young strawweight.
“I think time-wise (it) was perfect. I didn’t have any preference, but it was great. I want to fight as much as I can. I feel great, in shape, my mind’s in a good place. Just the time was very good,” she said.
With Hill being a longtime UFC vet there was plenty of tape for Ricci to dissect and come up with a solid game plan.
“I studied a lot. Watched a lot of tape on her. She has a lot of fights, a lot of experience, so we had a lot of things to look at and get better and improve,” she said.
“I think everything went smooth and we’re pretty confident with our game plan. Ready to go.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Tabatha Ricci above. She takes on Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 96 on Saturday night.
