Amanda Ribas (left) squares off with Paige VanZant (right) before UFC 251. Ribas won the fight by first-round submission.
Amanda Ribas taps out Paige VanZant in first-round
UFC 251 marks a historic card for the UFC as they will hold their first ever event on “Fight Island” in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Not only will the event be unique due to its outside beach venue, but it will also be just the sixth card in UFC history to feature three championship fights.
The main event will be a welterweight title bout between champion Kamaru Usman and fan favorite Jorge Masivdal. In the co-main event, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will face Max Holloway in a rematch of their December fight in which Volkanovski won by unanimous decision. Prior to those fights, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo will square off to fight for the vacant bantamweight championship.
The main card will begin with a women’s flyweight fight between Paige VanZant and Amanda Ribas. The two were scheduled to fight in March, but VanZant was forced out of the fight with an injury.
VanZant (8-4) is making her highly anticipated return to the octagon. Her last outing came in January 2019, where she picked up a submission win over Rachael Ostovich. This will be the last fight on her UFC contract and the social media star has hinted that it could be her last with the promotion.
Ribas (9-1) is a rising strawweight contender and this will be her debut at 125 pounds. She is currently unbeaten in the UFC with a perfect 3-0 record. Ribas is ranked No. 14 in the world at strawweight according to the official UFC rankings and this fight will also be her pay per view debut.
Here’s a breakdown of the Paige VanZant vs. Amanda Ribas fight with round-by-round scoring.
Round 1
Ribas controls the center at the beginning as two circle around the octagon to begin the fight.
Ribas opens up the striking early with a nice body kick, followed with a clinch and a knee. Following the strikes, Ribas throws VanZant to the canvas and VanZant appears to have blood coming from the forehead. Blood also appears to be coming from Ribas’ nose as well.
Ribas is working on ground and looks for an armbar. VanZant is fighting the position but Ribas won’t let go. VanZant tries to escape, but she can’t shake loose and she taps out.
Ribas makes the best of her pay per view debut and gets the submission win.
Official Result: Amanda Ribas defeats Paige VanZant via first-round submission (2:21)
