Fatima Kline is already looking up the strawweight ladder after defeating Tabatha Ricci by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 281 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Kline’s victory featured a notable back-to-back suplex sequence in the third round and pushed her to a No. 6 strawweight ranking in both the UFC media rankings and the UFC Meta AI rankings.
"It definitely feels different," Kline said of the moment, later adding, "There was a different approach to the fight, a different celebration when we won, a different energy that came out of me even during the fight itself. I just feel like it was such a unique experience. I'm relieved and upset it's over so fast. You look forward to things for so many months, and then it goes by in a blink of an eye. I'm just soaking it all in right now. I'm really happy with everything that went down."
Kline also highlighted her suplex sequence with Ricci: "I did tell Tabatha, I whispered in her ear, to get up a third time," she said. "At that point, she crawled toward the cage, so I knew she didn't want another one. Trust me, every time she got up, I was ready to take her right back down again. I was trying to give DC a lucky number three, you know? But unfortunately... maybe next."
Ranked in the top six, Kline is targeting established names. "I think the perfect person to put me right in line to beat and get a title shot after would beZhang Weilior Tatiana (Suarez)," Kline said, later adding that she "would love to welcome" Zhang back to 115 if she returns to strawweight.
