The UFC is ready to try this again with Amanda Ribas and Paige VanZant.
Ribas and VanZant have verbally agreed to fight each other July 11 at a to-be-determined UFC event, two people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Junkie on Thursday. The news was first reported by Combate.
Ribas (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and VanZant (8-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) originally were scheduled to square off March 14 at UFC on ESPN+ 28, but VanZant was forced to withdraw in January after suffering a setback with an arm injury that required a second surgery.
Ribas went on to defeat Randa Markos by unanimous decision to push her overall winning streak to four fights. Afterward, she said he hoped to rebook her matchup with VanZant. Ribas reiterated that desire last month when she spoke to MMA Junkie, calling for the fight to take place on “Fight Island.”
On Thursday, VanZant posted a picture of herself in fight gear on Instagram with the caption, “Coming to an island near you.”
For VanZant, the fight with Ribas represents the last on her UFC contract. She plans on testing free agency afterward. In her last bout at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January 2019, VanZant submitted Rachael Ostovich with an armbar to snap a two-fight losing streak.
