A women’s strawweight division attraction has been added to UFC 256 as no. 7 Carla Esparza faces no. 12 Amanda Ribas.
MMA Fighting first reported the bout.
Esparza (17-6-0) enters the contest riding a four fight winning streak, picking up wins over Virna Jandiroba, Alexa Grasso, Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez. Esparza is a former UFC women’s strawweight champion, defeating Rose Namajunas to win the gold at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale. Esparza hasn’t been defeated in over two years, with that last loss coming to Tatiana Suarez at UFC 228.
Ribas (10-1-0) is undefeated thus far in UFC competition, defeating Emily Whitmire, Mackenzie Dern, Randa Markos and Paige VanZant. Ribas has suffered a single defeat as a professional MMA fighter and that came to Polyana Viana at Jungle Fight 83. Ribas has competed 11 times as a professional MMA fighter and three of those encounters went the distance.
UFC 256 takes place on Saturday, December 12 from a location to be announced with Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates and predictions.
