Amanda Ribas sees Mackenzie Dern main event as first of multiple 2025 rematches

Amanda Ribas is one of two women in the UFC, along with Jessica Andrade, currently ranked in two different weight classes. Not only does the 32-year-old Brazilian have a number next to her name in both the strawweight and flyweight divisions, she’s a top-10 fighter in each category, sitting at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively.

For the past several years, the ever-smiling bundle of positive vibes with a penchant for putting on entertaining fights has been open about her desire to bounce between the two weight classes, depending on the opportunities available to her. Since 2021, the majority of her fights have come in the 125-pound weight class, where she’s struggled to a 1-3 record, compared to having gone 2-1 at strawweight and having earned back-to-back victories there.

“I am too much emotional, but now we need to think in strategy and think wit the brain,” Ribas said, speaking with Sportsnet on from Las Vegas where she is set to take on Mackenzie Dern in the main event of Saturday’s opening UFC Fight Night event of the year. “Thinking with the brain, strawweight is my category; it’s very I have more success, and statistically (speaking), it’s where I am better, but…”

Ribas erupted in laughter as she offered a shrug and a mischievous smile, making it clear that if something too appealing to pass up came sliding across the table, she would have to still consider it, even if it were at flyweight.

But for the moment, her focus is at making her way to the top of the strawweight division, and she’s not particularly far off from doing so either.

“This fight is really important because we both beat the No. 3 in the rankings,” began Ribas, referencing fellow Brazilian Virna Jandiroba, whom she beat at UFC 267, 10 months after Dern got the best of her at UFC 256.

Jandiroba hasn’t lost since, rattling off four straight victories to overtake both Ribas and Dern in the rankings, and while a proposed title eliminator bout with Tatiana Suarez at UFC 310 in December didn’t come to pass, “Carcará” remains on the short list of of title threats in the 115-pound weight class as the year begins. With a strong showing on Saturday, Ribas is hopeful she’ll move up alongside her former foe, if not potentially set up another rematch for herself.

“I think if I win this fight, and God blesses me with a good win, I can go to the top and maybe be a step to the belt, or do a rematch for Virna or something like that.”

So it seems like 2025 might just be “Rematch SZN” for Ribas if everything goes as planned, given that this weekend’s main event marks the second time she’s shared the Octagon with Dern.

The two first met a little over five years ago, when both were still neophytes in the UFC. Ribas got the better of things, earning a unanimous decision victory that established her as an emerging name to track in the division, while Dern was forced to regroup.

“I know now she is getting better on her boxing and I know she is more experienced too,” Ribas said of Dern, who enters Saturday off a unanimous decision win over Mexican-Canadian wrestler Loopy Godinez in August that snapped a two-fight skid. “When we fought, it was my second fight in the UFC, and her third.

“I always think like that — ‘it’s a different fight, different opponent’ — just as inside the gym,” Ribas continued when asked if she simply sets aside the first result and looks at this weekend’s contest as an entirely different setup given how long it has been since their first encounter. “All day, it’s a different partner, but still the same heart, still the same origins.”

Heart and passion have been two of the hallmarks of Ribas’ UFC tenure to date, with her willingness to wade into the fray and her joyous spirit making her an automatic fan favourite and must-see attraction every time she makes the walk to the cage.

For the last several years, she’s simply been happy to compete; eager to snatch up every opportunity that has been put in front of her simply because she loves getting in there and mixing it up. It didn’t matter which division or who the opponent was, whether it was a good matchup for her stylistically or a wise decision in terms of the trajectory of her career; if a call came for her to fight, she was fighting.

Now, after a five-round Fight Night main event unanimous decision loss to former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas last March and a lengthy stay on the sidelines to allow her body some time to recover after logging four fights within 13 months, Ribas is taking a more cerebral approach to things, as she said, and recognizing that there is a massive opportunity in front of her in the strawweight division.

“I (have the) ‘I want to fight! I want to fight!’ (feeling) and fighters need that,” she said, her smile lighting up her face and her eyes twinkling with excitement as she discussed her current state of mind just a few days out from making her return to the Octagon. “You know when the fighter wants to fight? I want to fight, and this is dangerous, and not just because it’s me.

“All fighters, when they want something, they’re dangerous.”

What Ribas wants is to work her way to a championship opportunity.

“I know how important it is, this fight, for my career, and my goals for this year,” she offered, her energy levels down-shifting just for a moment. “As I said, I am dangerous now because I want. I will do what I need to do to get to my goals.”

The last time she competed at strawweight, Ribas rallied to finish fellow Brazilian Luana Pinheiro, ending the fight with a spinning wheel kick and torrent of punching nearly 14 minutes into the 15-minute contest. During her post-fight interview, she told the division she was back and demanded respect.

Her eagerness ended up getting the best of her and she jumped at the chance to face Namajunas, but now, she’s hoping for a bit of a do-over on the whole “declare her intentions to dominate the division” thing this time around.

“Yes, I hope,” she said, smiling and laughing as she does so often, when asked about her post-fight comments following the win over Pinheiro and echoing them on Saturday. “I receive this, and if God blesses me, I will finish the fight with the same thing — my arm raised — but with less punches on my face!”

Ribas erupted with laughter, her hopeful wish to not get punched as much this weekend too enjoyable for her to contain herself.

The thing is, Ribas does kind of live for wading into the fire and letting her hands go, so while she may want to get punched less on Saturday, that’s probably not how things are going to play out.

And as long as she emerges victorious, it’s a safe bet the focused and effervescent Brazilian will be okay with that outcome.