Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas rematch shifts to first UFC main event of 2025
Less than two weeks out from its original date at UFC on ESPN 63, the rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas has been rescheduled.
Although it will no longer take place in front of a crowd, the strawweight contenders will instead get two more rounds and a main event spotlight. Dern (19-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) and Ribas (12-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will run it back in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 249, which takes place Jan. 11 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+).
MMA Junkie confirmed the changes with multiple people close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Mania was first to report the news on Tuesday.
The bout is a rematch from UFC Fight Night 161 in October 2019, which Ribas won by unanimous decision. At the time, both women were just starting their UFC tenures. The matchup was Dern’s third promotional appearance and Ribas’ second.
Dern and Ribas have struggled to gain and maintain momentum, with both ladies posting 3-4 records in their past seven bouts that date back to 2021.
Dern will enter the fight off a unanimous decision win over Loopy Godinez, which she earned earlier this month to snap a two-fight skid at UFC on ABC 7. Ribas, meanwhile, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas in a headlining bout at UFC on ESPN 53 this past March.
The latest UFC Fight Night 249 lineup now includes:
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
- Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov
- Thiago Moises vs. Trey Ogden
- Carlston Harris vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez
- Nicolle Caliari vs. Ernesta Kareckaite
- Uros Medic vs. Punahele Soriano
- Andreas Gustafsson vs. Preston Parsons
- Felipe Bunes vs. Jose Johnson
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes
- Cesar Almeida vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
- Nurullo Aliev vs. Yanal Ashmouz
- Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Fatima Kline
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 249.