Amanda Ribas meets former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas in the women’s flyweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The main card at UFC Apex will be on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on ESPN+ at 7 p.m.
Ribas (13-4) has wins in two of her past three fights, most recently a third-round TKO of Luana Pinheiro in a November bout at strawweight. She is No. 9 in the ESPN strawweight rankings.
Namajunas (11-6), ranked ninth at flyweight, has lost two fights in a row. She made her debut at 125 pounds in September, dropping a decision to Manon Fiorot.
Saturday’s UFC fight card
ESPN/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET
Women’s flyweight: Amanda Ribas vs. Rose Namajunas
Heavyweight: Justin Tafa vs. Karl Williams
Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan vs. AJ Dobson
Men’s bantamweight: Payton Talbott vs. Cameron Saaiman
Men’s featherweight: Billy Quarantillo vs. Youssef Zalal
Men’s featherweight: Fernando Padilla vs. Luis Pajuelo
ESPN+, 8 p.m.
Lightweight: Kurt Holobaugh vs. Trey Ogden
Men’s featherweight: Ricardo Ramos vs. Julian Erosa
Men’s bantamweight: Miles Johns vs. Cody Gibson
Men’s featherweight: Jarno Errens vs. Steven Nguyen
Women’s bantamweight: Montserrat Rendon vs. Dariya Zheleznykova
Men’s flyweight: Igor Severino vs. Andre Lima
Heavyweight: Mohammed Usman vs. Mick Parkin
How to watch the fights
Watch all of the fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
Watch the main card on ESPN. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV schedule
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There’s also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Ian Parker’s betting tip
If Namajunas hopes to make a title run at 125 pounds, it all starts with a potential win over Ribas. In her last fight, Namajunas had trouble finding her rhythm and lost a decision to Fiorot.
Stylistically, this fight favors Namajunas. Ribas has taken a lot of damage in her three UFC losses and she had to come from behind to get the win in her last bout after almost being KO’d early. I have a hard time seeing where Ribas wins this fight, as Namajunas is better no matter where the fight goes, and we have seen Namajunas knock out her opponents in the past.
For Parker’s suggested bets on the UFC main event and other fights on Saturday’s UFC card and Friday’s Bellator card, check out the ESPN+ expert picks and best bets article (link below). It also features analysis by UFC strawweight Angela Hill as well as ESPN’s other betting expert, Reed Kuhn.
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Expert picks and best bets: UFC Fight Night and Bellator