After latest last-minute cancellation, Amanda Ribas will only believe she’s fighting at UFC 285 ‘when Bruce says my name in the cage’
Amanda Ribas won’t believe she’s actually fighting at UFC 285 on Saturday night until Viviane Araujo faces her in the cage at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
said Ribas, a 29-year-old talent from Varginha, Brazil, this week Trocacao Franca Podcast that canceling games at the last minute has been a problem throughout her career. The fighter was set to face Tracy Cortez last December, however Cortez pulled out of the card shortly after both gained weight in Orlando.
“I hope the fight will happen this time because last time I did all the preparation and it didn’t happen,” said Ribas. “I just finished a training session here at the UFC PI and I’m thrilled. Fight week, I can’t wait to get my foot in the octagon and do my thing and be happy there.
“That’s the fun part of all this, getting into the octagon and putting all the work to the test because walking through a camp isn’t that pretty,” she added. “Battle is what I love about being the center of attention and everyone watching you representing everything I live for.”
Ribas also caused a cancellation once, when a positive test for COVID-19 in May 2020 forced the UFC to pull the plug on a match with Angela Hill just hours before the fight.
“I got my hair done on fight day and it was cancelled [I’ll only believe] if Bruce [Buffer] says my name in the cage,” Ribas said, laughing. “Then your heart starts racing and butterflies in your stomach hit.
“I really want to fight, do what I have prepared for. To go through the whole diet and [then] not having a fight sucks. I’ve had this before and did great in my subsequent fight [against Virna Jandiroba]and I hope that happens again.”
A veteran of 13 pro fights over a nine-year span, Ribas admits she still gets nervous before fights. The secret, she said, is knowing how to control it.
“My biggest fear is not being able to do what I’ve been training to do and run things in the octagon,” Ribas said. “It’s frustrating when you work at the gym and you can do anything, but imagine going in there and not being able to do anything? God willing, I will be able to do what I trained in the octagon.”
Ribas still plans to return to the strawweight division later, but flyweight competition and a gentler weight reduction allows her to remain busier. Viviane Araujo, her opponent on Saturday, is 5-3 in the octagon after dropping a decision against 125lb contender Alexa Grasso in their last match.
“‘Vivi’ is very experienced, even more so than Tracy, so I have to be smart about her heavy hands and her ground play,” said Ribas. “She is also very good on the ground. With ‘Vivi’ I have to find out about everything.”
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