Amanda Ribas explains lengthy UFC absence as she vows to draw Mackenzie Dern's blood
01/08/2025 11:03 AM
The Ultimate Fighting Championship's month-long hiatus is almost at an end; with MMA fans around the world counting down to the first Fight Night event of 2025.
The UFC kicks off a new year with a rather standard Apex card, but after weeks without any octagon action, that doesn't matter much to the fans; UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2 goes down this weekend.
Amanda Ribas explains her nine-month absence from the UFC
Since making her promotional debut in 2019, Amanda Ribas has garnered a reputation for being one of the most active female fighters on the roster.
Yet after fighting three times in 2023, the popular Brazilian strawweight would only make one appearance in 2024: dropping a hard-fought unanimous decision to former champion Rose Namajunas back in March.
After a nine-month layoff, Ribas returns to action this weekend in a rematch against Mackenzie Dern and speaking to MMA Junkie, explained why she needed to ditch her regular schedule in favor of some well-deserved R&R.
"I'm a true emotional person, but I need – my team and I talked – I need to be more of a brain person. I took this time to recover my body with recovery and everything, and to feel the miss to fight, to compete – I missed it [and] I really, really want to fight."
Dern and Ribas were originally meant to fight at UFC Tampa in December, with the bout being moved to January 18 and altered to a five-round contest; luckily, Ribas was already training for five rounds anyway.
"I was training to do five rounds – I don't know why. My dad was training me to do five rounds. I don't know if it's to be with more gas, but I was training to do five since the beginning of the camp."
Ribas is currently ranked in both the strawweight division (#8) and the flyweight division (#10) and knows that victory this weekend will "put me closer to my goal to be champion.
"Of course, everything depends on the result of this fight and how the fight is going, but I know the result can put me on the top and I can maybe step toward the belt."
Amanda Ribas is 'hungry for blood' ahead of rematch versus Mackenzie Dern
Ribas and Dern first faced each other back in October 2019; a fight which was won by Ribas via a unanimous decision – this time around, she's coming for the finish.
"I like to fight at strawweight, I feel strong, I feel confident, and I feel hungry, you know, not just for food but for blood!"
After suffering back-to-back defeats to Amanda Lemos and Jessica Andrade, Dern got herself back in the win column last August with a solid decision win over Lupita Godinez.
Dern might have momentum on her side, but Ribas is ready for whatever the American has in store: "I am prepared for [her] takedowns, for the punches because I know she's getting better and stronger, [but] I have trained a lot.
"I think if I could submit her, for sure I'll get a bonus."
Aside from the main event, there are a couple of fights that MMA fans should keep an eye on – Santiago Ponzinibbio takes on Carlston Harris in the co-main event of the evening, with the main card also set to feature UFC veterans Chris Curtis and Roman Kopylov.
There are also a few undefeated prospects to look out for; 13-0 featherweight Austin Bashi, 9-0 welterweight Jacobe Smith, 9-0 light heavyweight Magomed Gadzhiyasulov, and 9-0 lightweight Nurullo Aliev.
With a healthy mix of promotional veterans and surging newcomers, UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2 should be a fun way to kick off what should be another fabulous year of MMA action – roll on Saturday!
