Former UFC strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade will be making her return to the division when she takes on Amanda Lemos on April 23.
News of the bout was first reported by MMA journalist Guilherme Cruz on Friday. This will be Andrade's first fight at 115lbs since her split-decision loss to Rose Namajunas in 2020.
That bout against Namajunas took home Fight of the Night and was a rematch of Andrade's UFC 237 title win in 2019. That bout also earned Fight of the Night, with Andrade winning Performance of the Night as well after KOing Namajunas with a vicious slam to the canvas.
With Rose Namajunas now back at the strawweight throne, Andrade may not be far away from a potential trilogy fight against "Thug Rose" now that she's back down at 115.
After Andrade dropped the title to Zhang Weili and came up short in the Namajunas trilogy, she tried her hand at flyweight, where she went 2-1, with both wins being finishes.
First, she defeated Katlyn Chookagian via TKO in October 2020. Then, she defeated Cynthia Calvillo via TKO at UFC 266. Sandwiched between those bouts was a title shot against Valentina Shevchenko, a bout that saw Andrade on the wrong end of the TKO against the dominant champion.
Fellow Brazilian Amanda Lemos has a professional record of 11-1 and is 5-0 in the UFC. Her only loss came five years ago against MMA vet Leslie Smith. Upon entering the UFC, three of Lemos' first four wins were stoppages. And in her most recent bout against Angela Hill, she earned a very tight split-decision victory over Angela Hill. Lemos is currently ranked #10 in the strawweight division.
MMA News will continue to bring you additional updates on this April 23 UFC Fight Night card as they become available.
Do you think Jéssica Andrade will be successful in her strawweight return against Amanda Lemos on April 23?
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