Tabatha Ricci (born February 21, 1995) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, currently competing in the Strawweight division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. As of November 14, 2023, she is #12 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings.

Background

Ricci was born and raised in

Birigui Birigui is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located on the northwest of the state and has 124,883 inhabitants (IBGE/2020) and 530.9 km2 of area. The name ''Birigui'' comes from the Tupi–Guarani language and means "l ...

, Brazil. She has an older sister. Following her father's footsteps, Ricci started training

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

at the age of six and took up

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

at the age of 15. She started training

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

at the age of 17 and at 18 she training

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and had her first professional bout. She moved to Japan in 2017 for a year to compete in SEIZA competitions, before moving to America to focus on mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Right after turning eighteen, Ricci made her professional mixed martial arts debut. Having difficulties in finding bouts after winning her first two bouts, Ricci eventually moved to Japan in 2017 to train various disciplines and compete in custom rules bouts. In late 2017 she moved to California in order to focus in her

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. In 2020 she signed a three-fight contract with

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

where she ultimately won all of her bouts, defeating Kelsey Arnesen at LFA 90 by the way of unanimous decision, Vanessa Marie Grimes via first round armbar at LFA 98 and finally Shawna Ormsby at LFA 105 via TKO stoppage in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Replacing withdrawn

Maryna Moroz Maryna Moroz (Ukrainian: Марина Мороз; born September 8, 1991) is a Ukrainian professional mixed martial artist, signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the Women's Flyweight division. Moroz is also ...

, Ricci made her promotional debut on 4 days notice against

Manon Fiorot Manon Fiorot (born February 17, 1990) is a French mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 27, 2022, she is #1 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and #11 ...

on June 5, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. Ricci lost the bout via standing TKO in the second round. Following her debut returned back to strawweight division and made her sophomore appearance in the organization against Maria Oliveira at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori on October 23, 2021. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Ricci faced

Polyana Viana Polyana Viana Mota (born 14 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Raised solely by her mother, Viana grew up in São ...

on May 21, 2022 at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Ricci was scheduled to face

Cheyanne Vlismas Cheyanne Nicolae Vlismas (born June 25, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Vlismas began training in karate when she was three years old and then ...

on October 1, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 211 ''UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Yan'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 211'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 69'' and ''UFC Vegas 61'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 1, 2022, at the UFC Apex ...

. Vlismas pulled out in late August due to personal reasons and was replaced by former

UFC Women's Strawweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

challenger and inaugural Invicta FC Atomweight Champion

Jessica Penne Jessica Marie Penne (born January 30, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Penne currently competes in the Women's Strawweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the first Invicta FC Atomweight Cha ...

, however the fight was cancelled due to an illness with Penne on the day of the weigh in's. Ricci faced

on March 4, 2023, at

UFC 285 ''UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 4, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena facility in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States ...

. She won the fight via an armbar in the second round. Ricci faced

Gillian Robertson Gillian Elizabeth Robertson (born May 17, 1995) is a Canadian mixed martial artist (MMA). She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Robertson was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Can ...

on June 24, 2023 at

UFC on ABC 5 ''UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 5'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 24, 2023 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, Uni ...

. She won the bout via unanimous decision. Ricci faced Loopy Godinez on November 11, 2023, at

UFC 295 ''UFC 295: Procházka vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 11, 2023, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Background The event marked the promotion's se ...

. She lost the close bout via split decision.

Mixed martial arts record

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

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Park City, Kansas Park City is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,333. History The first Park City was founded in 1870. Located to the northwest of Wichita, it w ...

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Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: �ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a municipality and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-largest municipality in the State wi ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci, Tabatha Living people 1995 births Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian female mixed martial artists Brazilian female Muay Thai practitioners Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian female judoka Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century Brazilian women People from Birigui Sportspeople from São Paulo (state)