Virna Jandiroba vs Tabatha Ricci Prediction & Picks - UFC Fight Night

Prediction published on 4/3/26, 4:29 PM  by Bill Christy | Modified on 4/4/26 at 11:24 PM in MMA Picks

The Women’s Strawweight division will be featured in the fight leading into the main event on Saturday. It will pair the #3-ranked fighter in the division, Virna Jandiroba (22-4), against the #7-ranked fighter, Tabatha Ricci (12-3).

Virna is coming off a tough loss in 1st title shot opportunity last October. She lost via unanimous decision to Mackenzie Dern. The loss was the 2nd in her career against Dern. Her other 2 losses came before 2022. Before her loss to Dern in October, she had reeled off 5 straight wins. Of those 5 wins, 4 came over currently ranked strawweight fighters. 3 of those wins also came via decision, which proved something that many held against Virna earlier in her career, her ability to go the distance.

For Ricci, the 31-year-old has had her ups and downs over her recent 5 fights. After defeating Gillian Robertson in June of 2023, she began to see consistently ranked opponents going forward. She has won 3 of those 5 fights, but the losses are what are concerning for this matchup with Virna. Ricci was only able to secure 1 takedown in those fights. Virna has a similar takedown defense percentage to both Xiaonon and Loopy, who defeated Ricci.