Amanda Ribas should go beneath the knife after a knockout loss this previous Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi, and Tabatha Ricci feels unhealthy for the guy Brazilian.
Ricci related a vicious elbow to Ribas’ face within the second spherical of their strawweight bout on July 26. The strike displaced a metallic plate that was inserted within the space in 2023, when Ribas suffered a mid-fight orbital bone fracture towards Maycee Barber. Ricci admits she didn’t discover on the time that one thing severe had occurred to her opponent.
“I used to be frightened about Amanda, what occurred to her eye, however I do know she’s wonderful now and can do the surgical procedure in Brazil,” Ricci informed MMA Preventing. “I’m glad that she may have restoration and shall be nicely handled.”
The medical group in Abu Dhabi initially deliberate to do the process on the day after the combat after which pushed it again to Monday, however ultimately determined to ship Ribas again to Brazil for the surgical procedure.
“I didn’t know there was a fracture, a really severe one,” Ricci stated. “In truth, I didn’t notice the elbow hit her within the eye as a result of my head was beneath her chin and I used to be throwing the elbow. She obtained delicate out of nowhere and began to go down. I assumed, ‘Oh, it landed.’ However I didn’t realize it landed in her eye. She obtained delicate and I assumed, ‘I’l take her down.’ I went for the leg to take her down and that’s once I noticed her happening protecting her face, so I began punching.”
Ricci stated she noticed Ribas backstage throughout a medical check-in on the Etihad Enviornment, and he or she seemed to be in good spirits.
“She had her eye coated up however she was wonderful, she had vitality,” Ricci stated. “Amanda is an athlete that is aware of tips on how to win and lose, she’s a really good individual. I really like her. … This sport may be very harmful, that might have been the opposite approach round. It’s at all times a danger in there, proper?”
Ricci stated she anticipated to win by end to rebound from a loss to Yan Xiaonan, and credit the choice defeat towards “probably the greatest strikers within the division” for her evolution as a combined martial artist.
“To share the octagon with [Yan] for 3 rounds was an enormous expertise for me,” Ricci stated. “Shedding to the No. 2 ranked, experiencing how it’s up there [in the ranking] and coming again to coach and see what I did unsuitable and have this victory, that’s wonderful. Amanda is unimaginable, a veteran who’s been within the UFC for a very long time and has fought nice names, and I knew it will be a vital combat for me.”
Ricci climbed to the No. 7 within the official UFC rankings with the victory, and desires to proceed combating up.
“Mackenzie [Dern] additionally that simply fought Amanda. Perhaps they received’t give me her, they’ll as a substitute wait for an additional combat,” Ricci stated. “There’s additionally Jessica [Andrade] vs. Crazy [Godinez on Aug. 16], that will be combat too. I already fought Crazy, however I’d love a rematch as a result of I felt I received that combat, though it was a detailed one. It’s combat, actually. The winner of that combat could be very attention-grabbing for me.”
