Jessica Penne illness scraps UFC Fight Night 211 bout with Tabatha Ricci

The day before the event, UFC Fight Night 211 has lost a women’s bout.

An illness has taken Jessica Penne (14-6 MMA, 3-4 UFC) out of her women’s strawweight bout against Tabatha Ricci (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC). The fight had been set for the prelims. UFC officials made the announcement just prior to the start of the card’s official weigh-ins.

UFC Fight Night 211 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+. The loss of the Penne-Ricci fight takes the event down to 12 bouts.

Penne stepped in for the fight with Ricci just a month ago when Cheyanne Vlismas pulled out of the bout. But now, after the opponent switch, Ricci is left without a fight at all. It is not yet known if the UFC will reschedule the matchup.

Penne is 2-1 since returning from a layoff of nearly four years in April 2021. The 39-year-old is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Emily Ducote at UFC on ABC 3 in July. Prior to that, she beat Loopy Godinez and had a first-round armbar submission of Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Ricci is on a two-fight winning streak. Since dropping her UFC debut to flyweight contender Manon Fiorot, the 27-year-old Brazilian has beaten Maria Oliveira and Polyana Viana.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 211.