The Prelims of UFC St. Louis will continue to roll on as we bring you a betting prediction and pick for this next upcoming bout in the Women's Strawweight (115) Division. Two exciting strikers will do battle as No. 11-ranked Tabatha Ricci of Brazil will take on Tecia “Tiny Tornado” Pennington. Check out our UFC odds series for our Ricci-Pennington prediction and pick.

Tabatha Ricci (9-2) has gone 4-2 during her time in the UFC since 2022. After winning four-straight fights in the span of two years and notching impressive knockout victories along the way, she suffered a loss in her last bout against Lupita Godinez. Still, the bout was a close split decision and she'll be looking get back to her winnings ways. Ricci stands 5'1″ with a 61-inch reach.

Tecia Pennington (13-6) has gone 9-6 during her career in the UFC dating back to 2014. She's a pioneer in the division and she's still going strong, notching three wins in her last four fights. She fell to Mackenzie Dern in her last bout and she's hoping her experience can give her the edge in this next bout. Pennington stands 5'1″ with a 60.5-inch reach.

Here are the UFC St. Louis Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC St. Louis Odds: Tabatha Ricci-Tecia Pennington Odds

Tabatha Ricci: -142

Tecia Pennington: +122

Over 2.5 rounds: -400

Under 2.5 rounds: +300

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Why Tabatha Ricci Will Win

Tabatha Ricci has been extremely consistent through the start of her UFC career and she's been able to improve her game with each passing performance. She's very skilled in her striking and doesn't discriminate with using her punches and kicks. She generates a lot of power for a fighter of her size and her energy inside of the cage often carries her momentum in fights. Her last fight against Loopy Godinez was a close bout, but Ricci was getting beat in the exchanges and couldn't close the distance properly against Godinez. Nevertheless, she held in there with a top prospect and with a win over a vet like Tecia Pennington, she'll gain a ton of experience on her own end in return.

Tabatha Ricci has been very successful when initiating contact and being the first fighter in the exchanges. Her chin is very solid and meeting a similarly-built fighter in Pennington, we could see Ricci once again open up her varied striking attacks. Ricci will also have the slight edge in the grappling and could bring this fight to the ground if she wants to gain control time. Look for Tabatha Ricci to be very motivated in getting back from her last loss.

Why Tecia Pennington Will Win

Tecia Pennington was a riding a solid three-fight winning streak that saw her notch two unanimous. decisions during that stretch. Of her 13 wins, 11 have come by way of decision. She doesn't typically fight for the finish and she's not too keen to initiate grappling exchanges, so Pennington does a lot of her work in point fighting and controlling the exchanges on the feet. She's very physically strong for her size, which makes a huge difference for her when clinching with opponents along the fence. Pennington also has a bit of a mean-streak and with a nickname like “tiny tornado,” she certainly fights like the moniker indicates.

On paper, Tecia Pennington is the better and more active striker of the two. She averages over 4.5 strikes per minute while only absorbing 3.5 in return. She also has a very accurate 48% clip when throwing strikes and defends 60% of the shots coming back her way. Against a similar striker like Ricci, Pennington could frustrate her opponent by being the more defensively-sound striker through three rounds of action.

Final Tabatha Ricci-Tecia Pennington Prediction & Pick

This will be yet another fun fight on the Prelims of UFC St. Louis and we'll see a classic matchup between a rising prospect and an established veteran in the division. Both Pennington and Ricci have very similar fighting styles and even have similar builds on the scales. It'll be a matter of which fighter can be more physically imposing with their striking and have the bigger moments throughout the fight.

Tabatha Ricci went three rounds and put up a great fighter against Loopy Godinez, who has since made strides in her own career. Ricci is still up there as a top prospect and she'll have a chance to take out a veteran within her division.

Tecia Pennington has all the physical tools to be dominant during this matchup, but she'll have to have the higher output and put together the faster boxing combinations. She'll win this fight as the underdog if she's able to be quicker on her feet and dart out of range.

For our prediction, we're going to roll with Tabatha Ricci to get the win in this matchup. Both fighters are physical specimens and will be evenly-matched in terms of the striking. Ricci has the more solid game on the ground and I expect her grappling skills to be the difference in her finding this win.

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Final Tabatha Ricci-Tecia Pennington Prediction & Pick: Tabatha Ricci (-142)