UFC Vegas 89 Preview
The UFC is returning to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 23rd for UFC Vegas 89. The main event will be in the women’s flyweight division between #8 Amanda Ribas and former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.
Since the beginning of 2021 Ribas has gone 3-3 but most recently defeated Luana Pinheiro by TKO in November for one of the best knockouts of 2023. The Brazilian has struggled to call a weight class home but will once again make the return to flyweight after an impressive victory at strawweight in her last fight.
Ribas is prepared to put on a show in her first main event. “Since the first time that I signed a UFC poster, I was imaging my face there,” Ribas said. “Yesterday I signed with my face, and since the first day at camp I was like, ‘OK, the time is now. You are doing the main event. So let’s go.’
“I’m prepared for all – to do five rounds, to the end or the beginning. I’m training to do a war and do a really good fight for the fans to enjoy and say this is worth being a main event.”
The 30-year-old expects to fight a championship level Namajunas. “I always put in my mind that I will fight the best Rose Namajunas ever,” Ribas said. “I’m training for the best in her. If something comes not like this, I’m prepared.”
While Ribas has traded fights at strawweight and flyweight, she wants to continue to look for the best opportunities regardless of weight class. “I really enjoyed last year where I did three fights,” Ribas said. “I hope I can do three fights this year, too, inside the octagon, and I hope if I win, God will bless me with that, I can do a top five and maybe go to the belt.”
What is missing from Ribas’ record is a marquee victory, and that is exactly what Namajunas represents. If she wants to continue to look for the best opportunities, a win over Namajunas will create a path for Ribas to go on a title run, at flyweight or strawweight.
Namajunas is trying to rebound from two straight losses. She made her flyweight debut in September but lost a unanimous decision to Manon Fiorot. That fight followed a split decision loss to Carla Esparza at UFC 274 where she lost the strawweight title.
The 31-year-old believes fighting at flyweight is the best weight class for her moving forward. “I just think health-wise, to me, it is just not a healthy thing to do at this point,” Namajunas said. “I know that I could keep pushing through it, my mind got a lot stronger with cutting the weight but I could tell my body was not liking that as much. I could tell from my last strawweight fight, my eyes were sunken in and it’s hard to see myself like that. Even though the will gets stronger, the flesh gets weaker so to me, I’m all about health and wellness, even though we are about to go and fight, I want to preserve as much as possible.”
Namajunas has goals of adding even more to her championship resume. “Becoming two-division champion this year would be awesome. But I know that’s a very steep mountain to climb, and I know I have had some setbacks so I obviously I got to be realistic, but I do believe that is very realistic, and anything, God willing that is what is going to happen. I just have to take care business of this weekend,” Namajunas said.
Despite her current losing streak, Namajunas is one of the greatest women’s fighters of all-time. She has two wins over current strawweight champion Zhang Weili, two wins over former champion and hall of famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade, Michelle Waterson, Tecia Torres and Paige VanZant. With a win over Ribas, she could be just one more win away from a flyweight title shot.
The rest of the main card:
Heavyweight - Justin Tafa vs. Karl Williams
Middleweight - Edmen Shahbazyan vs. A.J. Dobson
Bantamweight - Payton Talbott vs. Cameron Saaiman
Featherweight - Billy Quarantillo vs. Youssef Zalal
Featherweight - Fernando Padilla vs. Luis Pajuelo
ESPN+ Prelims:
Lightweight - Kurt Holobaugh vs. Trey Ogden
Featherweight - Ricardo Ramos vs. Julian Erosa
Bantamweight - Miles Johns vs. Cody Gibson
Featherweight - Jarno Errens vs. Steven Nguyen
Women's Bantamweight - Montserrat Rendon vs. Darya Zheleznyakova
Flyweight - Igor Severino vs. André Lima
Heavyweight - Mohammed Usman vs. Mick Parkin
