Amanda Ribas expects Alexa Grasso to still be the UFC women’s flyweight champion by the time she fights for the title.
Grasso (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) dethroned seven-time defending champ Shevchenko (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in a huge upset submission win this past March at UFC 285.
The pair are expected to rematch – and if they do, Ribas (12-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) sees Grasso retaining her title.
“I think Valentina against Alexa Grasso maybe if they have one more fight and we will have it, I think Alexa will win again because she is with a good brain, a good mentality,” Ribas told MMA Junkie Radio. “I will fight for the belt. I don’t know when, but I will. I think it will be against Alexa.”
Ribas meets Maycee Barber (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at UFC on ABC 5 on June 24 in Jacksonville, Fla. Currently ranked at both strawweight and flyweight, the 29-year-old Brazilian isn’t ruling out a return to 115 pounds but likes her career trajectory at 125.
“I want to still fight in strawweight because for me it is my original weight division,” Ribas said. “But I’m doing good at flyweight, and the UFC is offering me really good fights, so I am accepting. Flyweight, I can do the fight in two weeks. I can get it. In strawweight, I need the time to do my diet, to lose some pounds. But I want to do in both divisions.”
Ribas holds big wins over Mackenzie Dern and Virna Jandiroba at strawweight. She is 2-1 as a flyweight, with wins over Paige VanZant and most recently Viviane Araujo at UFC 285.
