Mackenzie Dern got most of the hype going into her strawweight main-card bout against Amanda Ribas on Saturday night, and for good reason: She was undefeated, and she was returning after taking more than a year off due to pregnancy and childbirth.
But when the cage door shut for the fight at UFC on ESPN+ 19, it was all Ribas’ night. Ribas (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) looked sharp throughout , while Dern (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) looked like a competitor dealing with ring rust, and that played out in a unanimous-decision victory for Ribas.
The judges’ scores at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. were 30-27 across the board in favor of Ribas.
Ribas set the tone early on by landing solid counters. Once they started finding a home, she began pushing the pace, moving forward, and landing stiff jabs and overhands. Dern attempted a takedown late in order to implement her superior jiu-jitsu game, but Ribas shifted her weight, turned it into a throw, and got into top position as the round wound down.
The second round was a carbon copy of the first, right down the late ground exchange. In the third, Ribas was mostly content to use her reach advantage to stick and move, although she picked up the pace with a final big flurry as the horn sounded.
With her second career decision victory, Ribas has now won three in a row.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 19 results include:
- Amanda Ribas def. Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Matt Frevola def. Luis Pena via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Eryk Anders def. Gerald Meerschaert via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ryan Spann def. Devin Clark via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:01
- Mike Davis def. Thomas Gifford via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 4:45
- Alex Morono def. Max Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Tim Elliott via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:08
- Marlon Vera def. Andre Ewell via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:17
- Miguel Baeza def. Hector Aldana via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:32
- Marvin Vettori def. Andrew Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- J.J. Aldrich def. Lauren Mueller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
