Amanda Ribas weighs in for her fight against Emily Whitmire in June 2019. PhotoCred: FanSided
Amanda Ribas will still fight at UFC 256; plans to fight Carla Esparza in 2021
Amanda Ribas was looking forward to sharing the octagon with Carla Esparza at UFC 256 on Dec. 12. Unfortunately that fight is no longer happening.
Earlier this week, MMA Fighting reported that Esparza is no longer fighting on the UFC’s end of the year pay per view. For Ribas, she was upset when she heard the news, as she really wanted that fight.
“She was the first female champion in my division,” Ribas told MyMMANews. “It’s not too good to reschedule fights, but we need to be prepared for that. I heard something about her being sick, so I hope she feels better.”
Ribas last fought in July at UFC 251, where she made easy work of global superstar Paige VanZant. Following the win she called for a fight with the winner of an upcoming matchup between Esparza and Marina Rodriguez. Esparza would win that fight by unanimous decision and then the UFC started working on a Ribas and Esparza fight.
“It all started when I invited and asked the UFC for the Carla and Marina winner,” Ribas said. “Then Carla accepted and UFC offered the fight in October and it seems that she asked to postpone it to November or December and I accepted. Then she asked to postpone it again to January and I accepted again.”
The game plan for Ribas is to fight Esparza in early 2021, but in the meantime she will still fight at UFC 256. Currently the UFC is working to find her an opponent and Ribas is hoping that Michelle Waterson would be interested in taking the fight.
“It’ll be an amazing fight against Michelle,” the Brazilian said. “ She is in a very good position in the rankings and I think It’ll be a good fight to watch.”
As the UFC looks for a new opponent, Ribas plans on continuing to stay in shape while enjoying her time in Brazil with her family and friends.
“I’m waiting for the ufc to say a name and until then I’m still training hard to get prepared for a fight in December. I think I need to enjoy my moment, I’m feeling good, training good, so it’ll be amazing to fight.”
