Face off! Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas 2 staredown video from UFC Vegas 101 weigh ins

Jesse Holland is among the longest-tenured media professionals in the combat sports news space, covering MMA, professional wrestling and boxing on a full-time basis since early 2004.

Mackenzie Dern will rematch fellow Top 10 strawweight contender Amanda Ribas atop the upcoming UFC Vegas 101 fight card on Sat. night (Jan. 11, 2025) on ESPN+ from inside the promotion’s APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both fighters came face-to-face at the conclusion of the UFC Vegas 101 early (and official) weigh ins on Friday. Dern remains the odds-on betting underdog for this contest and could lose her favorable spot in the 115-pound rankings with another defeat.

“He helps me a lot just being comfortable and I’m kind of trying to stay as calm as I can,” Dern told reporters when arriving with her emotional support dog for UFC Vegas 101 media day. “I think what I’m most needing in my fights is composure, and to kind of just go into the APEX one more time and just feel like it’s a training session. He goes to the gym with me and everything like that and [my daughter] is going to be here on Friday. So it’s kind of the best way to just keep me relaxed and not getting all my nerves up too high.”

The co-main event staredown between Santiago Ponzinibbio and Carlston Harris below:

Nothing left to do now except fight.

LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 101 On ESPN+

STRAWWEIGHT SHOWDOWN! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads back to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Jan. 11, 2025, with an important 115-pound main event featuring jiu-jitsu phenom Mackenzie Dern, who looks to avenge her 2019 loss to Brazilian bruiser Amanda Ribas. In addition, longtime welterweight slugger Santiago Ponzinibbio returns to face off against “Mocambique” mauler Carlston Harris in UFC Vegas 101’s hard-hitting co-headliner.

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 101 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 101 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Dern vs. Ribas 2” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.