UFC women’s strawweight contender Tabatha Ricci reacted following her latest loss inside the Octagon at UFC Oklahoma City.
Ricci suffered a lopsided unanimous decision defeat to Fatima Kline on the UFC OKC main card, losing 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards. Ricci entered this fight as the No. 7-ranked women’s strawweight in the Meta UFC Rankings, but after losing to the 14th-ranked Kline, Ricci is sure to drop several spots in the rankings.
Tabatha Ricci Reacts Following UFC OKC Loss
Taking to her social media, Ricci shared the following statement following her loss to Kline.
“This is the fight game! Thank you everyone for the love. Im going to take care of myself and be back,” Ricci wrote in a caption on her Instagram stories.
HeavyTabatha Ricci IG Stories
The loss to Kline dropped Ricci to 7-5 overall in the UFC, and she has lost three of her last four fights overall. Considering Rici began her UFC career with a 4-1 record, she has really fallen off in the last few years, and though she is still ranked in the top 15 at 115 lbs, no one would consider her a legitimate UFC women’s strawweight title contender anymore.
What’s Next for Tabatha Ricci?
The 31-year-old Brazilian is likely going to be used in a bit of a gatekeeper role going forward, which is essentially what the UFC matchmakers did with her in this bout against Kline, a rising prospect who needed to beat a top-10 fighter to jump into the elite of the weight class.
Taking a look at the top-15 rankings right now at 115 lbs, don’t be surprised if Ricci fights someone like Alexia Thainara in her next bout if Thainara can get past Amanda Lemos in her next fight. Another potential option is Jaqueline Amorim, another BJJ-based fighter who would provide an intriguing style matchup for Ricci.
While she is still a top-15-ranked fighter, Ricci doesn’t seem like the top contender she was a few years ago, when she was beating top fighters such as Gillian Robertson and Amanda Ribas, so it remains to be seen what the UFC does next with her.
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