Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas 2 targeted for UFC Tampa on Dec. 14

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Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas are running things back.

The two veteran UFC strawweights are expected to collide in a rematch on Dec. 14 at UFC Tampa, which takes place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. MMA Fighting’s Guiherme Cruz confirmed the matchup Monday following an initial report by Ag. Fight.

Dern and Ribas previously fought once before in the UFC in October 2019, with Ribas outpointing Dern to hand the jiu-jitsu champion her first professional MMA loss. Coincidentally, that fight also took place at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

Dern (14-5) is MMA Fighting’s No. 8 ranked strawweight in the world. One of the most decorated female jiu-jitsu athletes of all-time, she recently rebounded from a two-fight losing streak at the hands of Jessica Andrade and Amanda Lemos to score a decision win over Loopy Godinez at UFC Abu Dhabi in August.

Ribas (13-5) is MMA Fighting’s No. 9 ranked strawweight in the world. December’s bout marks a return to strawweight for the Brazilian following a hard-fought decision loss to former two-time UFC champion Rose Namajunas in March at UFC Vegas 89, which also served as Ribas’ first UFC main event. In her most recent strawweight bout, Ribas picked up a third-round knockout of Luana Pinheiro in November 2023.