Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s 805 Beer partnered with Brazilian professional fighter Tabatha Ricci to make her the newest face in their line of endorsed athletes.
“Over the 10 years we’ve been brewing 805 here on the Central Coast, we’ve been honored to share the stories of the inspirational people who call this place home,” Nick Firestone, the brewery’s chief operating officer said. “When we met Tabatha, we instantly connected on her drive, aspiration, and passion that epitomize 805 Beer.”
Ricci is a grappler-style mixed martial arts fighter, meaning she specializes in hand-to-hand combat. The 27-year-old from Birigui, Brazil, moved to Ventura in 2017 after nearly a lifetime of Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu training, and a year of living and competing in Japan.
“I started when I was a little girl,” Ricci said. “My dad is a master in judo. He put me in judo when I was a kid.”
Now, Ricci is preparing for her next match: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 285 in Las Vegas on March 4 against fellow strawweight (between 106 and 115 pounds) Jessica Penne. Until then, she’s bolstering her rigorous training with teaching jiu-jitsu at Ventura’s Paragon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Being an instructor sharpens her fighting instincts, she said.
“Whenever you break down a technique, you always pay attention to the details,” she said. “Sometimes when you’re training for fights, you skip some of the details because everything happens so quickly.”
Ricci’s students range from teenagers to people in their 60s. She trains both men and women three days a week, and even offers private lessons to children.
“I train three to four times a day. On weekends, I do active recovery,” Ricci said. “I do love to teach. It’s my time to connect with myself, to learn more.”
Though Ricci spars with both men and women in the lead-up to competitions, gender disparity is common in mixed martial arts, according to her. While growing up in Birigui, Ricci said she barely encountered other females during jiu-jitsu lessons.
“In my Muay Thai gym, there were a lot of girls training with me. In jiu-jitsu, there weren’t many girls when I started, maybe one or two,” she said. “But when I went to São Paulo, which is a big city in Brazil, there were more girls there.”
She found that the disproportionate representation persisted in California. But Ricci said that the landscape of mixed martial arts is slowly changing.
“I think MMA’s [mixed martial arts] bringing in a lot more girls. Our fights are very entertaining actually,” she said. “We’re aggressive but we also bring the feminine side.”
When she’s not teaching, Ricci has her hands full with personal training from a battalion of six coaches. They guide her in Muay Thai, boxing, strength conditioning, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. Even resting periods are dynamic.
“Fridays are sparring days and now I’m in active recovery,” she said. “It’s usually very intense for me. I took a nap, and now I’m going to swim a bit to loosen my body.”
With such regimented training, Ricci hopes to add to her 7-1 win record come March. Mixed martial arts may not be an Olympic sport yet, but she has loftier ambitions.
“I’m always looking for ways to be different so that people can remember me,” Ricci said. “I want to create a chain: one generation is inspired by me, and they inspire the next, and so on.”
Fast facts
• Through a partnership with People’s Self-Help Housing (PSHH), Paso Robles Joint Unified School District students in first through sixth grades at select elementary schools will have access to Camino Scholars. Camino Scholars is a PSHH program that aims to improve students’ math and literacy skills. Parents can visit pasoschools.org to learn more and register their students.
• Recovery plans are in place for San Luis Obispo County homeowners, renters, and business owners whose properties have suffered physical damage or loss because of the January storms. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience is helping eligible candidates file applications. Visit the Veterans Hall on 801 Grand Ave., SLO, to learn more. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 2-12, 2023.