UFC Fighter Tabatha Ricci Lights Up Instagram With Viral Bikini Photo

UFC fighter Tabatha Ricci had herself a day on Instagram going into the weekend.

The MMA athlete isn't one of the biggest names in the sport to people who don't pay close attention, but she has still managed to generate a bit of a following.

She's 8-1 in her fighting career, and has a very high ceiling when it comes to what her UFC career could develop into. A June 24 fight against Gillian Robertson is her next opportunity to earn a major win.

However, it wasn't her striking skills that generated so much attention Friday on Instagram. It was a viral bikini photo from the beach that caught everyone's eye.

Tabatha Ricci goes viral with bikini photo from the beach.

Ricci might not have the name recognition of the UFC's most famous women, but clearly, she's doing her best to leave an impression.

She currently has just under 200,000 Instagram followers. A respectable number for sure, but far from elite. Those are rookie stats compared to someone like former UFC star Paige VanZant Or Amanda Nunes and Rose Namajunas, who both have more than 1.5 million followers.

Tabatha Ricci lights up Instagram with bikini photo. She's a rising star in the UFC. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

However, there's two guaranteed ways to build a bigger following in the UFC. Beat the living hell out of people in the octagon or drop viral content on Instagram.

Ricci has done a nice job with step one, and she's now dipping her toes into the second option. It's definitely not a bad strategy and appears to be working for her.

Tabatha Ricci goes viral with bikini photo on Instagram. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Fans will find out in less than a month whether or not she can notch another win in her fight against Gillian Robertson. In the meantime, it's likely she'll keep crushing the warm weather and dropping viral content online.