Yan Xiaonan vs Tabatha Ricci Prediction: Strawweight co-main could steal the show

Yan Xiaonan takes on Tabatha Ricci this Saturday, November 23 at UFC Fight Night 248. The strawweight encounter takes place at the Galaxy Arena in Macau. The show will be broadcast live on TNT Sports, headlined by Petr Yan vs Deiveson Figueiredo

Here are my Xiaonan vs Ricci predictions ahead of Saturday’s co-main event.

This return to her homeland is coming at just the right time for Xiaonan. Last time out, ‘Fury’ came up short in a shot at the UFC Strawweight Championship. Zhang Weili retained her title via unanimous decision in a thrilling affair. The first all-Chinese UFC title fight did not disappoint.

The champion came close to finishing Xiaonan in each of the opening two rounds. Weili nearly choked her challenger out at the end of the first round. Then in the second, a rain of fists had Xiaonan close to defeat.

Xiaonan rallied back with two knockdowns and a takedown, putting herself firmly back in the running. But Zhang’s championship-tested stamina and wrestling acumen steered her home. ‘Fury’ had put up an excellent challenge, but it wasn’t enough to beat the current pound-for-pound number two.

Now she looks to rebuild in front of her home crowd against Ricci. ‘Baby Shark’ is an excellent opponent and certainly no safe landing for Xiaonan. This is a great fight and well worthy of the co-main event billing in Macau.

Ricci has lost just two of her eight octagon outings and she sits 10th in the divisional rankings. The 29-year-old has wins over Jessica Penne, Gillian Robertson, Angela Hill and Tecia Pennington. Her ranking has been hard-won. Ricci’s prime placing on this card is by design.

A fighter coming off a title shot taking on one who is eyeing that privilege is a classic match-up. A win for Xiaonan puts her right back in that reckoning, particularly given the excitement of her encounter with Weili. While a victory for Ricci rockets her up the rankings.

The key factor here is level of competition. Xiaonan has scraped and clawed the mountaintop, even if she could not quite pull herself up to stand upon it. In facing Weili, in beating Mackenzie Dern and Jessica Andrade, she has proven herself at the top level.

Ricci is not in the argument for being Xiaonan’s toughest opponent. Not yet. But Xiaonan is undoubtedly the best fighter Ricci has ever faced. Of course, you only know whether a challenge is insurmountable once you’ve taken it on. But this fight feels like a bigger ask for ‘Baby Shark’ than it is for ‘Fury’.

Equally, another defeat for Xiaonan here could trigger a spiral. How does one come back from that? ‘Fury’ will be fighting with everything she has to avoid ever finding out.

Yan Xiaonan vs Tabatha Ricci Betting Odds

Xiaonan is 8/15 to get the job done in China. Ricci is behind her at 6/4 for the win.

UFC Fight Night: Yan vs Figueiredo Full Card

Main Card

Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

Yan Xiaonan vs. Tabatha Ricci

Song Kenan vs. Muslim Salikhov

Wang Cong vs. Gabriella Fernandes

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg

Zhang Mingyang vs. Ozzy Diaz 

Preliminary Card 

Xie Bin vs. Zhu Kangjie

Baergeng Jieleyisi vs. You Su-young

Kiru Singh Sahota vs. Choi Dong-hun

 Shi Ming vs. Feng Xiaocan

Nyamjargal Tumendemberel vs. Carlos Hernandez

Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Jose Ochoa

Xiao Long vs. Quang Le 

Maheshate Hayisaer vs. Nikolas Motta

Yan Xiaonan vs Tabatha Ricci Prediction

I like Xiaonan here. We’ve seen more than enough UFC fighters lose in their home country, so I’m not basing it on that. But I just think the experience edge and quality of opposition faced will play a significant role. 

Xiaonan has proven she can come close to championship heights. Ricci isn’t there yet. She might get there, but not tonight. Xiaonan to win at 8/15 is the play.

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