Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci Odds
Here's everything you need to know about the Angela Hill vs. Tabatha Ricci odds on Saturday, August 23 – with Dan Tom's expert UFC prediction and pick.
Saturday's UFC co-main event on ESPN+ features a top-15 women's flyweight affair between ranked contenders Angela Hill and Tabatha Ricci.
Despite being nearly 40, Hill is arguably aging like wine in terms of her fighting form during recent outings.
Riding an impressive two-fight winning streak, Hill will put her No. 9 ranking on the line when she meets the rising Ricci.
Ranked only two slots below Hill, No. 11 Ricci has been steadily swimming toward the top of this division since dropping her short-notice octagon debut up a weight class to flyweight Manon Fiorot.
Dan Tom's Tale of the Tape
| Hill | Ricci | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 17-13 | 10-2 |
| Avg. Fight Time | 14:19 | 12:53 |
| Height | 5'3" | 5'1" |
| Weight (pounds) | 115 lbs. | 115 lbs. |
| Reach (inches) | 64" | 61" |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Date of birth | 1/12/1985 | 2/21/1995 |
| Sig Strikes Per Min | 5.4 | 4.3 |
| SS Accuracy | 49% | 37% |
| SS Absorbed Per Min | 4.86 | 4.94 |
| SS Defense | 61% | 60% |
| Take Down Avg | 0.80 | 2.99 |
| TD Acc | 33% | 35% |
| TD Def | 76% | 77% |
| Submission Avg | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Even though this fight has the initial feels of a striker vs. grappler affair, both women have made measurable efforts to round out their games.
Ricci, who stepped onto the scene as a grappling pitbull who hunts armbars, has steadily sharpened her striking during her UFC tenure.
Initially free-flowing more from southpaw, Ricci has slowly shifted to a more orthodox approach on the feet. Now, utilizing more jabs and upping her overall output, Ricci has found more opportunities to land power shots than before. The judo black belt is still an active takedown threat, particularly when given openings to counter clinches or kicks.
Ricci still hasn't shown the most reliable control on the mat, but she'll still be dangerous enough to put Hill on her best behavior.
A noted muay Thai striker who transitioned to MMA later in life, Hill has to work hard to catch up to her contemporaries in the grappling realm (something that was evident in her first run with the promotion).
However, in Hill's defense, she has shown serious improvement in both her jiu-jitsu and her wrestling in this latest stretch of her career.
Hill has also been a solid operator inside of the clinch, but now the Alliance MMA product does a much better job directing traffic with counter-wrestling tactics in mind.
Although Hill has displayed upgraded getups in recent fights, she'll still need to watch her arms when scrambling considering what Ricci primarily looks for.
But if Hill can prove hard to control in closed quarters, she has the tools to steadily build a striking advantage over Ricci through tricky feints and superior volume and variety.
Hill vs. Ricci Pick
The oddsmakers set the Brazilian fighter as a slightly wider favorite, but public money has steadily come in on the American, listing Ricci -130 on the moneyline and Hill +110 as of this writing.
Although I'm admittedly surprised to see MMA gamblers betting on the older fighter, I can understand the line movement given that Hill is fighting at a career-best while Ricci (who should've lost two in a row her last time out to Tecia Pennington) is arguably experiencing some growing pains.
Still, despite scoring her last fight for her opponent, I have to credit Ricci for having a strong third frame – something she'll need opposite a building fighter like Hill.
Should Ricci continue to show improvements this time out, then I suspect that she'll be able to stay competitive enough with Hill to sway some judges her way. Ricci, who has the more eye-catching attributes like power and so on that tend to trick everyone from the judges to the gen pop alike, seemingly tends to get the attention and favor in close rounds. Whereas Hill, win or lose, always seems to find herself in close rounds and subsequent split decisions alike.
For that reason, I'll be semi-reluctantly siding with Ricci to edge out another questionable decision over a superior striker through grappling pressure and the more punctuating punches.
Unless you're incredibly confident on a side, then I suggest shopping for some split-decision props given both of these women's history of finding themselves in contentious fights (as this one was split-decision written all over it). As of this writing, DraftKings has the bet (find it under "Fight Props") listed at +225, but other sportsbooks may open the market as we get closer to fight time.
The Pick: Hill vs. Ricci "to Be Won by Split or Majority Decision" (+225 at DraftKings)
