FRIDAY, AUGUST 18 LFA 165: COMPTON vs. VALENTE "SANTO" DANIEL COMPTON vs. "ÍNDIO" RENATO VALENTE
MIDDLEWEIGHT SHOWDOWN
LIVE on UFC FIGHT PASS
KAISER PERMANENTE ARENA
SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA
SANTA CRUZ, California — Top ranked UFC strawweight contender Tabatha "Baby Shark" Ricci will make her highly-anticipated live color commentary debut at LFA 165: Compton vs. Valente, when the promotion makes its debut in northern California. LFA 165 takes place Friday, August 18th at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, California. The main event will feature a middleweight showdown between hometown hero Daniel "Santo" Compton and Brazilian powerhouse Renato "Índio" Valente.
Ricci will make her live MMA color commentary debut alongside MMA play-by-play commentator Max Soares at LFA 165 as they will make up the live Brazilian-Portuguese commentary team that will broadcast live in Brazil on UFC Fight Pass. The English commentary team will feature veteran MMA commentator Ron Kruck, who will be joined in the booth by UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC champion "Suga" Rashad Evans. This live commentary lineup will make Ricci the second woman to work as a commentator for the LFA. The first woman to do so was Laura Sanko in January 2021. She is now working in the same capacity for the UFC and Dana White's Contender Series. The importance of this means a lot to Ricci as she offered the following statement to reflect on the accomplishment and significance of this opportunity.
"I am so excited to be doing live color commentary for the LFA on UFC Fight Pass," stated Ricci. "LFA is where I began my MMA career in the U.S. as a fighter and now I am returning as a commentator. I remember when Laura Sanko called my fight at LFA 98. It was my second fight in the LFA and it was her second event working for the LFA as a color commentator. Laura is amazing at what she does. She is the first woman to work as a commentator for the LFA and then became the first female commentator to work for the UFC since Kathy Long at UFC 1. It is an honor to now be the second woman to work as a commentator for the LFA after her. LFA 165 is stacked with incredible talent and matchups. I can't wait to get to Santa Cruz for this fantastic event!"
The top UFC star known as "Baby Shark" is a native of Birigui, São Paulo, Brazil and holds the rank of black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Ricci will be returning to the LFA as an analyst, which is the same promotion that kick started her MMA career in 2020. This is because she was signed to the UFC after winning 3 fights in just 9 months for the LFA, which is the UFC's premier developmental organization. Those wins came against Kelsey Arnesen (Unanimous Decision), Vanessa Grimes (Submission), and Shawna Ormsby (TKO) in a variety of ways, which showcased her diverse skill set.
The proud Biriguiense has since gone 4-0 as a UFC strawweight and is now 9-0 overall in the division. Her first two UFC wins were earned with Unanimous Decision victories over fellow Brazilian prospects Maria Oliveira and Polyana Viana. However, it was her third UFC win that was the most impressive and saw her land in the official UFC strawweight rankings. Ricci dominated former UFC women's strawweight title challenger Jessica Penne and became the first woman to submit her in the UFC. The submission came via armbar in Round 2 of their bout at UFC 285. In her most recent outing this past June, Ricci defeated Gillian Robertson, who is the UFC's record holder for most submission wins by a woman. The win came via Unanimous Decision and saw her continue to work her way up the UFC rankings.
LFA 165 is scheduled to begin with the preliminary card at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on YouTube.com/@LFA_Fighting. The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on UFCFightPass.com.
Tickets for LFA 165 are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.
