Amanda Lemos will look to extend her winning streak when she faces Jessica Andrade in a women’s strawweight main event at a UFC Fight Night, set for the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 24 April 2022.
Lemos (11-1-1, 7 KO) has put together a five-fight victory run, stretching back as far as December 2019 when she submitted Miranda Granger, right up to a split decision win over Angela Hill in a Fight Night in December of last year.
This will be the 34-year-old Brazilian’s first career main event, and she has promised to put up a great show in a possible title eliminator.
“It’s definitely a great opportunity and I was searching for a fight like this for a while,” Lemos said. “She’s a famous, famous fighter, a former champ, a really tough fighter. I was really glad to get this opportunity to be able to show the audience how good I am and how far I’ve come.”
She added, “I’ve been working a lot on my own mistakes. Last fight I committed a few of them so I’ve been watching a lot of my previous fights, watching a bit of my opponent. And that’s what we’re working on. There are a few surprises that I have in store for the next fight but I’m going to keep that to myself.”
Andrade (22-9, 9 KO) defeated Cynthia Calvillo by first-round TKO in her last appearance in the Octagon in September of last year. A former strawweight champion, the 30-year-old Brazilian is returning to the division after a stint at the flyweight level, where she was soundly beaten in a title fight by belt-holder Valentina Shevchenko a year ago.
“I was having a hard time finding opponents in the flyweight division,” explained Andrade. “We tried Alexa Grasso, even Miesha Tate in bantamweight, but nobody wanted to fight with me, so my master Gilliard Parana convinced me that in strawweight the amount of possibilities would grow, making the matchmakers' lives easier.”
She added, “Amanda is a pretty tough new talent, but my goal is not to leave the fight in judges’ hands. I will win via submission or knockout, and get a spot back on the top of strawweight rankings again.”
The rest of the main card features a heavyweight bout between Tanner Boser and Alexander Romanov; a lightweight clash in which Clay Guida takes on Claudio Puelles; Lando Vannata v Charles Jourdain in the featherweight division; a women’s lightweight battle between Maycee Barber and Montana De La Rosa; as well as the card-opener between Su Mudaerji and Manel Kape in the flyweight division.
UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade – Main card
- Main event: Women’s strawweight: Amanda Lemos v Jessica Andrade
- Heavyweight: Tanner Boser v Alexander Romanov
- Lightweight: Clay Guida v Claudio Puelles
- Featherweight: Lando Vannata v Charles Jourdain
- Women’s flyweight: Maycee Barber v Montana De La Rosa
- Flyweight: Su Mudaerji v Manel Kape