Namajunas tops Ribas in UFC main event for 1st flyweight win

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas avoided the first three-fight losing streak of her career Saturday.

Namajunas defeated Amanda Ribas via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in the UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The victory marked Namajunas' first in the women's flyweight division after she came up short in her 125-pound debut last year.

Namajunas will likely enter the top 10 at 125 pounds after beating Ribas, who was ranked No. 8 coming in. Namajunas was unranked at flyweight but is the No. 8 women's pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

The 31-year-old used strong distance management and striking technique to pick apart Ribas on the feet. She also relied on a significant amount of ground control to secure the win.

The American suffered a unanimous decision loss to top contender Manon Fiorot in her flyweight debut at UFC Paris last September. Prior to that, Namajunas dropped the strawweight belt to Carla Esparza in 2022. Namajunas hadn't been victorious since beating Zhang Weili, the current strawweight champion, in a 2021 title defense.

Namajunas held the 115-pound title on two occasions and is one of the greatest fighters in division history.

Ribas has now alternated wins and losses in her last eight Octagon appearances. The 30-year-old Brazilian was competing in her first UFC main event and went five rounds for the first time in her career.