Jessica Penne ill, out of fight against Tabatha Ricci at UFC Vegas 61

Jessica Penne is out of her fight against Tabatha Ricci at UFC Vegas 61 on Saturday. At the official weigh-ins on Friday, UFC color…

By: Kristen King | 1 year ago
Jessica Penne ill, out of fight against Tabatha Ricci at UFC Vegas 61
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Jessica Penne is out of her fight against Tabatha Ricci at UFC Vegas 61 on Saturday.

At the official weigh-ins on Friday, UFC color commentator Jon Anik announced that Penne fell ill and was subsequently removed from the event. Mike Heck of MMA Fighting spoke to her manager, who revealed she was ‘not feeling good’ throughout the week.

There is no word on the nature of the illness at this time.

Penne was hoping to return to the win column after losing a unanimous decision to promotional newcomer Emily Ducote at UFC Long Island this past July. The 39-year-old was previously on a two-fight win streak, which included a split decision over Lupita ‘Loopy’ Godínez and a first-round armbar of Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Ricci rebounded from her first professional loss to Manon Fiorot with back-to-back wins over Maria Oliveira and Polyana Viana. ‘Baby Shark’ was originally scheduled to fight Cheyanne Vlismas in her third Octagon appearance in 2022, but the ‘Warrior Princess’ was forced out because of personal reasons.

It is unknown if Penne vs. Ricci will be rescheduled for a later date.

UFC Vegas 61 goes on with 12 fights, with Mackenzie Dern vs. Yan Xianon serving as the headliner.



Official UFC Fight Poster: UFC Vegas 61 Fight Night – DERN VS YAN

Live! Stream UFC Vegas 61 on ESPN+

STRAWWEIGHT SHOWDOWN — Mackenzie Dern vs. Yan Xiaonan – OCT 1 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, October 1st, 2022, with a thrilling 115lb women’s Strawweight top contenders brawl between No 5 division ranked, Mackenzie Dern (12-2) who looks to stop the rise of her No. 6 division ranked foe, Yan ‘Nine’ Xiaonan (15-3). In UFC Vegas 61’s co-main event, hard-hitting Welterweights go to war when rising star Randy ‘Rudeboy’ Brown meets up with Brazilian fight veteran, Francisco ‘Massaranduba’ Trinaldo. Plus — Brendan Allen vs Krzysztof Jotko, Raoni Barcelos vs Trevin Jones, Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Chris Daukaus, Aleksei Oleinik vs Ilir Latifi, & Sodiq Yusuff vs Don Shainis all on this Fight Night card! Tune-in for a stacked 13-bout event…

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

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About the author
Kristen King
Kristen King

Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016, getting her start with outlets such as FanSided, MyMMANews and MMA-Prospects. She joined the BE team in 2020, covering a mix of news, events and injuries. In her time with BE, Kristen has created ‘Fright of the Night,’ a series that highlights some of the worst injuries in the sport.

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