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Main Event Spotlight | UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2
Top 10 Strawweights Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas Rematch In UFC’s First Main Event Of 2025
Kicking off UFC’s 2025 campaign is an intriguing rematch at 115 pounds between No. 6 ranked Mackenzie Dern and No. 8 ranked Amanda Ribas.
The two strawweights first met early in their UFC careers back in 2019, with Ribas earning a unanimous decision victory after 15 minutes of action. The biggest surprise in that fight was Dern’s inability to take Ribas down, failing on all six of her takedown attempts. Ribas took advantage of their time spent on the feet by more than tripling Dern in significant strikes landed (74-20).
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Since their first meeting, Ribas climbed her way into the Top 10 of both the strawweight and flyweight divisions. The inconsistency in her results, however, has kept her on the outside looking in from title contention.
Dern is in a similar position, having won just three of her last six. That makes their main event rematch on January 11 all the more important, as we get to find out who’s ready to make that jump toward the top of the strawweight division.
While you can watch their first fight to try to get a glimpse of what their rematch could look like, five years is a long time, and both athletes have evolved a great deal since.
Ribas, for one, has become one of the most consistent strikers at 115 pounds. She’s earned significant strike differentials of +32 vs Luana Pinheiro, +33 vs Virna Jandiroba, +49 vs Randa Markos and +54 vs Dern. Her +2.49 strike differential is the fourth largest in strawweight history.
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Despite letting her hands fly, Ribas maintains a solid strike defense, as well. She sits second all-time in the strawweight division with a strike defense of 67 percent, meaning she’s successfully evaded 67 percent of her opponents' strikes.
As successful as Ribas is on the feet, Dern finds similar results once the fight hits the mat. Dern has logged over 55 minutes of control time, the third most in the division’s history, with over 39 minutes of that coming in top position.
When Dern gets you to the ground, she doesn’t just hold you there - she’s constantly searching for a submission or an opening to land strikes. Against Yan Xiaonan in 2022, Dern landed 167 ground strikes, the fifth most in a strawweight fight. She also holds sixth place with 147 against Angela Hill.
Dern is also considered the submission queen at 115 pounds, holding the record for the most submissions in the division's history with four. These finishes stem from her impressive 15 submission attempts inside the Octagon.
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One thing has stayed consistent since their first fight, and it could be the deciding factor yet again when these two meet at UFC APEX. Ribas has exceptional takedown defense, only giving up four takedowns in 11 total UFC fights. At strawweight, Ribas has defended 18 of 21 takedown attempts, including all six against Dern. Ribas’ 85.7 percent takedown defense is the second most in the division's history, behind only Jinh Yu Frey.
This is shaping up to be another classic striker vs grappler matchup, with the winner likely being decided by who can dictate the pace and keep the fight in their preferred realm - standing or on the ground. We’ll find out Saturday, January 11, at 7pm ET/4pm PT on ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2 took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 11, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!