Women’s Flyweights
#13 WFLW | Tracy Cortez (10-1, 4-0 UFC) vs. #9 WSW | Amanda Ribas (11-3, 5-2 UFC)This is one of the more interesting fights on the card and an important matchup for both women. USADA issues delayed Ribas’ UFC debut for nearly two years, but she looked like a potential star immediately upon hitting the Octagon in 2019. Beyond her charisma, she kicked things off with an impressive four-fight winning streak marked by a victory over the much more hyped Mackenzie Dern. The Brazilian entered 2021 seemingly poised to become a strawweight title contender, but those hopes ended almost immediately. She found some early wrestling success against Marina Rodriguez, but suddenly fell victim to a second-round knockout. Ribas rebounded well by ending the year with a win over Virna Jandiroba, but 2022 has mostly been a lost year for her, as she has attempted a move up to flyweight. Her May bout against Katlyn Chookagian seemingly had the potential to be a one-off appearance at 125 pounds. Michelle Waterson-Gomez was forced out of a strawweight bout against Ribas, so she instead pivoted to a short-notice opportunity up a weight class. It was an interesting gambit: Ribas could make herself a contender in a new weight class with just one win, but a lot of her success at 115 pounds was helped by her ability to bully and overpower her opposition. Things went fine, as Ribas acquitted herself well in a loss and dragged a fun fight out of the often-cautious Chookagian, but it seemed taken for granted that she would subsequently pick up where she left off at strawweight. Instead, she sticks around at flyweight for a much different stylistic matchup here. Cortez seemed like a lock to get a contract with a win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019, thanks to her marketability and an inspirational life story that made it near-impossible for UFC President Dana White to deny. Beyond that, she has come through as a fighter, particularly as an impressively hard-nosed wrestler. A pre-UFC win over Erin Blanchfield has aged particularly well as Blanchfield marches up the flyweight ranks, and Cortez has embraced the grind to win all four of her UFC fights to date—an impressive bit of business given that she spent the beginning part of her UFC career as an undersized bantamweight. She finally moved back down to flyweight for a fight against Justine Kish in 2021, and it was a mixed bag. Cortez got the win but missed weight and definitely had the flattest performance of her UFC career. Even so, she looked as solid as ever in her most recent bout, a decision win over Melissa Gatto in front of her hometown Arizona faithful. This is the type of fight that is a coinflip on paper but could wind up quite one-sided in practice, as it all hinges on Cortez’s ability to find success with her wrestling. Cortez’s striking is still a work in progress, and Ribas is both aggressive and powerful enough to turn that into a ton of damage on the feet. If both women were the same size, this would likely turn out as a Ribas win thanks to her grappling and judo ability being enough to neutralize Cortez. However, Cortez is a talented wrestler in her own right, and she might be a natural bantamweight facing a natural strawweight. The bet is that Cortez can come out ahead in a grind. The pick is Cortez via decision.
Jump To »
Price vs. Rowe
Ducote vs. Hill
Holtzman vs. Guida
Diakiese vs. Johnson
Pearce vs. Elkins
Cortez vs. Ribas
Levy vs. Valdez
Marshall vs. Rojo
Jauregui vs. Nunes