By Safeer MS
Tabitha Ricci, ranked 12th in the strawweight division will take on Tecia Pennington in the preliminary card of UFC St. Louis. Pennington is coming after a lengthy lay-off due to maternity. Formerly known as Tecia Torres, the strawweight changed her name surname to Pennington after her marriage to Raquel Pennington, the current UFC bantamweight champion. Ricci lost her first fight at strawweight to Loopy Goodinez, at UFC 295. The Brazilian had lost her UFC debut to Manon Fiorot, at flyweight.
Tabitha Ricci – Paths to Victory
Tabitha Ricci is the heartthrob of UFC fans. The Brazilian is the girlfriend of Callum Smith, a protégé of UFC CEO Dana White. Ricci lost her UFC debut to Fiorot but reeled off 4 consecutive victories at strawweight before she lost to Goodinez. With a background in Judo and Muay Thai, Ricci is also an accomplished BJJ grappler and even made her boxing debut. The loss to Goodinez was via a split decision, showing the close nature of the fight.
Against Pennington, Ricci would likely need to utilize her boxing and Muay Thai skills. Pennington has shown impressive BJJ defense against Mackenzie Dern, the most accomplished athlete at strawweight. Since she is coming after giving birth to her daughter, there would be ring rust. The timing would likely be off and Ricci would have to capitalize on it to attain victory. Pennington is tough to finish as evidenced by her fight against Zhang Weili who is now the strawweight champion. Striking is where Ricci should concentrate on but should capitalize on submission if the opportunity shows.
Tecia Pennington – Paths to Victory
Like Ricci, Tecia Pennington was also the heartthrob of UFC fans. However, she is 5 years older than the Brazilian. At 34, Pennington will be looking to rebound from her loss to Mackenzie Dern via a controversial split decision. Before the loss, she was on a three-fight winning streak after a four-fight losing streak, three to current or former strawweight champions. With a background in Karate and Taekwondo, Pennington is one of the dynamic strikers in the division. However, she does not have the knockout power nor the volume to pose a threat to Ricci.
Against Ricci, Pennington would have a tough time, particularly on the feet. Since she is coming back from more than two years outside the octagon, the ring rust would be brutal. Pennington has always pressured her opponents and doing that to Ricci would likely result in countered by the Brazilian. Pennington is a slight betting underdog in the fight and for her to win, she should take the first round off to get the ring rust off and get the timing. After that, she should go berserk in rounds 2 and 3 to earn a 29-28 victory.
