Amanda Ribas on fighting on a Conor McGregor card: ‘It will be amazing for me’

Amanda Ribas has become a breakout star in the UFC’s 115-pound strawweight division since handing Mackenzie Dern her first career loss in October 2019.

Currently a flawless 4-0 in the promotion (10-1 overall), the Brazilian has shown a wide range of dangerous skills. Having scored two of those four wins via submission while the other two came via dominant decisions that displayed her sharp striking as well as dominant ground control.

Next for Ribas will be a fellow Brazil native in the No. 8 ranked Marina Rodriguez. Originally, Ribas was matched with the former Invicta FC atomweight champion Michelle Waterson. That was until Waterson was forced out of the bout for undisclosed reasons.

In the 27-year old Ribas’ last performance she sent Paige VanZant on her way out of the promotion by snatching up a first-round armbar at UFC 251 in July. Against Rodriguez, she’s hoping to show off more of her striking as opposed to her grappling as she did against VanZant. Being one of the best strikers in the division thanks to her lethal Muay Thai, Rodriguez will surely oblige.

For both women, it will be a big opportunity as it is for anyone getting to compete as part of a Conor McGregor headlined event. And that’s just what the January 23 UFC 257 card is as the Irishman rematches Dustin Poirier.

“It will be amazing for me as a fighter and a fan,” Ribas told MMA Junkie regarding fighting on UFC 257. “As a fighter, it will be great for me because everybody is watching the card, and they will watch my fight too, and it will be amazing for me, for my sponsors, for the UFC, and for everything.”

Amanda Ribas’s great personality and exciting fighting style have been a combination that has helped her stand out in a stacked strawweight division. Many are already touting her as a future superstar that will be floating atop the division for years to come.

If she can get past Rodriguez and do so in an impressive fashion, it will be even harder to argue that that won’t be the case.

“For me, I don’t see me as like a star,” Ribas said. “When people say, ‘Amanda, take a picture with me.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, for sure! Please.’ For me, I don’t see it. I don’t know how to explain it.

“Some fighters, they put a star in their mind and think, ‘Oh, I’m the best.’ No, slow down because our life is too fast. The fighter life is too fast. We need to know who you are. You’re not the best to anybody. So you need to be humble with a good heart and good vibes. Be like me.”