Tabatha Ricci is paired up with Virna Jandiroba in a key women’s strawweight bout at UFC Vegas 115 this Saturday.
Ricci’s fight with a grappler in Jandiroba had her fielding questions about Charles Oliveira during this week’s media day. Specifically about the criticism he received following the “BMF” title fight at UFC 326, which saw Oliveira dominant on the ground, though unable to finish Max Holloway. Ricci herself, however, comes from a grappling background, and isn’t one to put the ground game down.
Asked whether fighters appear to be under more pressure to finish in the modern UFC, Ricci (12-3) explained that it’s nothing new.
“I think the pressure is always there. Everybody wants to get a finish. I’m not going to force anything, I don’t think anybody has to,” she stated. “If you put hard work in, if you train hard, it’ll be there. You’ve just got to believe.”
Strawweight is in a transition period in the UFC right now. Mackenzie Dern defeated Jandiroba to win the title vacated by Weili Zhang when she moved up to flyweight. Yet with Zhang coming up short opposite Valentina Shevchenko, many expect the Chinese star to return to 115lbs.
“I do think Weili of course, I don’t know if she’s going to retire but she probably wants to retire as a champ,” noted Ricci. “So she does deserve to have a title shot back. We’ll see how it’s going to be, I’m just going to focus on my fight and be ready.”
Ricci has said that she wants a title fight with a win over Jandiroba, who has already fought once for the belt, this weekend. If that doesn’t come to pass, she’s also open to rematches with Yan Xionan, Loopy Godinez, or Gillian Robertson. “Yeah, any fight any time. Whatever takes me close to my goals, I’ll be willing to do it.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 115 media day appearance by Weili Zhang above.
