Tabatha Ricci turned to her wrestling to score multiple takedowns on Polyana Viana to ultimately win a unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 55.
Time after time, Ricci swooped inside and brought Viana crashing down to the canvas, which is where the majority of the fight took place. While it wasn’t the most exciting display, Ricci remained in control for most of the fight with Viana stuck playing defense off her back.
Ricci was awarded the fight by the judges with 29-28 scores all over the board.
” I didn’t know what she would do,” Ricci stated about Viana’s game plan. I was just practicing defense.
“I’d like to be back as soon as possible. I trust the UFC and I’m happy with what I get .”
It was Viana acting as the aggressor early on with a strong kicking game before pulling guard with a guillotine choke attempt on two different occasions. While Viana couldn’t hold onto the submission, she then transitioned into a very active guard game from the bottom while Ricci almost looked lost on top without inflicting any significant damage.
Back on the feet in the second round, Viana was consistently landing better strikes as she used good distance to keep Ricci on the end of her punches. She also launched a well-timed spinning back elbow that clipped Ricci, which certainly got her attention.
Ricci did manage to score multiple takedowns, which was arguably her best offense, but she was also struggling to really put Viana in harm’s way on the ground. Viana was unable to stop Ricci wrestling, so she wasn’t in the best place to win.
Viana was able to continue showing her back, but Ricci continued to put her down. Ricci made the decision to get out of Viana’s way and allow her to stand. As time expired, Ricci was content to continue kicking at Viana’s legs. Viana was left standing there defending her position.
It seems the time Viana spent on her back with Ricci putting her down several times was the difference in the battle of Brazilian strawweights. Ricci is now 7-1 in her career with back-to-back wins in the UFC following a loss to flyweight contender Manon Fiorot in her debut.
