John
Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
Virna
Jandiroba was simply a level above Tabatha
Ricci on Saturday night.
One bout removed from an unsuccessful strawweight title bid against
Mackenzie
Dern last October, Jandiroba relied on her grappling to capture
a unanimous decision triumph over Tabatha
Ricci in the UFC Vegas 115 co-main event on Saturday night.
There were no surprises to Jandiroba’s approach: She simply was
able to ground Ricci repeatedly — especially during the bout’s
first 10 minutes. By the time Ricci authored a push in Round 3, the
deficit on the scorecards was too great to overcome.
As a result, Jandiroba maintains her No. 3 ranking at 115 pounds,
and she’s already lobbying for a rematch with Dern. However, the
next move for former strawweight queen Weili Zhang
— who came up short in her bid for flyweight gold last November —
will determine much of the future of the division. Meanwhile, Ricci
loses out on a big opportunity to make a serious move in the
rankings. “Baby Shark” remains on the bubble at No. 11, with new
contenders like Fatima
Kline breathing down her neck.
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