Preview: UFC Fight Night 206 ‘Holm vs. Vieira’

Women’s Strawweights

Tabatha Ricci (6-1, 1-1 UFC) vs. Polyana Viana (12-4, 3-3 UFC)

ODDS: Ricci (-120), Viana (+100)

This should be a solid affair between Brazilian strawweights. Viana has been a hard fighter to pin down. Credentialed as a grappler, “Dama De Ferro” impressed with a dominant UFC debut over Maia Kahaunaele-Stevenson, but things quickly went south from there. Even with obvious athletic advantages against J.J. Aldrich and Hannah Cifers, Viana mostly got neutralized and could not find much of a path to a submission. Once her third straight loss saw her quickly get tapped out by Veronica Macedo, it was expected that she would part ways with the promotion. Instead, she rebounded with armbar victories over Emily Whitmire and Mallory Martin. Both were quick enough that it is difficult to take much from the victories, but Viana did look more focused and effective as a striker during the brief moments before those fights went to the ground. After a year-plus layoff, she will look to build her momentum against Ricci. Coming from a background in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, “Baby Shark” marked herself as a strawweight prospect to watch on the regional scene but essentially got an unwinnable assignment for her UFC debut. A small strawweight at 5-foot-1, Ricci made her debut up a weight class against hulking flyweight Manon Fiorot and did not get much done as a result. Ricci got a much more forgiving opportunity to show off her wares in October, leaning on her wrestling to get a one-sided win over Maria Oliveira back down at 115 pounds. Viana’s apparent recent striking improvements add some intrigue to that part of the fight, but this figures to be all about what happens on the mat. Ricci looks to get her fights to the ground in short order, and Viana has a historic tendency to pull guard in response to wrestling pressure. Viana is dangerous enough that she could find something over the course of 15 minutes, but the safer bet sees Ricci as a strong enough athlete and skilled enough grappler to stay out of trouble and grind out a win. The pick is Ricci via decision.

Jump To »
Holm vs. Vieira
Pereira vs. Ponzinibbio
Njokuani vs. Todorovic
Ricci vs. Viana
Park vs. Anders
The Prelims