Amanda Ribas hungry 'for blood' in UFC Fight Night 249 rematch with Mackenzie Dern

Amanda Ribas took a self-imposed break from competition following her loss to Rose Namajunas and feels rejuvenated going into 2025.

In what has been a rarity for her UFC tenure, Ribas fought just once in a calendar year during 2024. She was supposed to rematch Mackenzie Dern on the final event of the year, but the matchup was pushed back and elevated into main event status for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 249 event, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+).

Ribas (12-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) said the time away was important before she ran it back with Dern (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC). She wasn’t thrilled with her performance in a headlining loss to Namajunas in March, and after a discussion with her team, she came to the conclusion a longer period between fights than usual was a necessity.

“I’m a true emotional person, but I need – my team and I talked – I need to be more of a brain person,” Ribas told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “I took this time to recover my body with recovery and everything, and to feel the miss to fight, to compete. I missed it. I really, really want to fight.”

Ribas was just as keen to fight Dern in December, but said she didn’t care about the details when presented with an opportunity to change the date and alter the contest to five rounds. She signed the contract right away, and although she had to delay Christmas celebrations, felt ahead of the curve for her new task.

“I was training to do five rounds – I don’t know why,” Ribas said. “My dad was training me to do five rounds. I don’t know if it’s to be with more gas, but I was training to do five since the beginning of the camp.”

Ribas’ loss to Namajunas came in the women’s flyweight division. The Brazilian has jumped back-and-forth between 125 pounds and 115 pounds throughout her UFC tenure, but the results haven’t been equal, because she is 5-1 at the lower weight class, while just 2-3 when competing in the higher division.

As someone who considers herself to be an opportunist, Ribas said it’s hard to turn down the meaningful matchups the promotion has given her at women’s flyweight. However, she said now is the time to focus on the division where she clearly does her most impactful work.

“I come from three (straight) wins at strawweight, and I know this fight is a huge opportunity to put me closer to my goal to be champion,” Ribas said. “Me and Mackenzie, we beat the No. 3 (in Virna Jandiroba). Of course everything depends on the result of this fight and how the fight is going, but I know the result can put me on the top and I can maybe a step toward the belt, or maybe some rematch for Virna, and then for the belt.

“Now I’m focused on strawweight. But, I always have a but, if UFC still offers me really good fights at flyweight, I can think about it. Always in flyweight I get some really good names with good backgrounds. Rose is really good, Maycee Barber, Viviane (Araujo), Katlyn Chookagian – all tough girls in flyweight.”

Ribas defeated Dern by unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC Fight Night 161 in October 2019. It was Dern’s first loss in MMA, and a performance that put Ribas on the map as a dangerous name.

There was no reluctance to give Dern her shot at revenge, Ribas said, and she thinks this was a logical sequel for UFC to put together given where both women are at in their respective careers.

“This fight makes sense,” Ribas said. “We both are really good and I know we can be really good champions in the UFC. There’s no names better on the ranking than us (available), so it’s hard to find some fights. It’s a good fight for me, and for her.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 249.