"I wanted to kill her" - When father's coin flip saved Amanda Ribas' MMA career when "heartbroken" fighter nearly quit after loss to Polyana Viana
Amanda Ribas' MMA career almost met a premature end after her first professional MMA defeat, a first-round KO loss against Polyana Viana at Jungle Fight 83 in Nov. 2015. Nevertheless, the Brazilian MMA stalwart's career was saved by her father, Marcelo Ribas.
A Vale Tudo fighter, who claims to possess a record of 47-1, Marcelo Ribas introduced his daughter Amanda and son Arthur to the martial arts world in their childhood. Amanda was training to compete as a Judoka and represent Brazil at the Olympics but those hopes were dashed by multiple knee injuries.
Former UFC and Pride heavyweight Carlos Barreto advised Marcelo Ribas to have his daughter compete at the IMMAF 2014 World Championship, an amateur MMA tournament in Las Vegas. Fighting in the flyweight division, Ribas ended up winning the tournament.
After amassing a 5-0 unbeaten pro-MMA record, she suffered a devastating defeat against fellow future UFC fighter Polyana Viana.
As reported by MMA Fighting in 2021, Ribas was "heartbroken" by the loss. Besides, she'd stood witness to her friends earning a decent living and felt that she was putting her body on the line without securing adequate pay. Akin to her brother, who'd taken a break from MMA due to a prolonged injury hiatus, she attempted to do the same, but her father disapproved.
Furious at his daughter at the time, Marcelo Ribas recalled stating:
"No way, you're not getting a f*cking job ... You'll either study or fight. Are you crazy? ... She wanted to be a secretary, man. I wanted to kill her."
Meanwhile, Amanda Ribas recounted her defeat against Polyana Viana and explained:
"I was frustrated because I didn't follow the right strategy, I made a mistake ... I wanted to train as soon as possible when that fight was over because I was so angry at myself. It's easier when you can see the mistake you've made."
Moreover, as a 5-1 professional MMA fighter, Amanda Ribas received an offer to fight Zhang Weili in China. Marcelo Ribas suggested that due to a war-like situation in China at the time, the matchup fell apart. However, Amanda had an offer to compete in a TUF-style MMA reality show in India.
Marcelo Ribas acknowledged that accepting the Indian offer would've bagged his daughter more money. However, Carlos Barreto chimed in once again, this time around asking him to send Amanda Ribas to the world-renowned American Top Team (ATT) gym in the US instead.
The older Ribas knew that although the Indian offer would fetch better pay, training at ATT would surely help his daughter upskill. Ultimately, a coin flip decided the young Ribas' fate. Marcelo recalled:
"I got a piece of white rubber, shaped like a coin, and wrote 'American Top Team' on one side and 'India' on the other one ... I flipped it and got American Top Team. I immediately said, 'American Top Team it is, Amanda.'"
Amanda Ribas eyes top-five matchup with win over former UFC champion
Amanda Ribas is scheduled to face former UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Their highly-anticipated women's flyweight bout will headline the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on March 23, 2024. Ribas is 1-1 in her past two octagon appearances and will be looking to string together a few more wins in her quest to capture UFC gold.
The consensus is that a victory over a former champion like Rose Namajunas could earn the No. 8-ranked UFC women's flyweight a top-five opponent next. Namajunas, for her part, is on a two-fight losing streak, and her showdown against Amanda Ribas would be only her second flyweight MMA bout.