MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC Vegas 52, a five-round women’s strawweight bout between Jessica Andrade and Amanda Lemos. The event takes place on Saturday, April 23 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Jessica Andrade (-190)
Andrade (22-9) is the former UFC women’s strawweight champion. The 30-year-old Brazilian has been in the UFC since 2013, and during the years since then, she has fought and defeated many of the best women’s fighters in the sport. She has notable wins over the likes of Rose Namajunas, Tecia Torres, Katlyn Chookagian, Cynthia Calvillo, Raquel Pennington, and Claudia Gadelha, to name a few. Andrade has fought in three weight classes in the UFC and she has performed at a high level for most of these fights. She has huge knockout power and she also has really strong wrestling skills, making her a well-rounded fighter and a tough out for anyone. After going up to flyweight for her last few fights, she’s back down at strawweight and looking to win the belt again.
Amanda Lemos (+165)
Lemos (11-1-1) is the No. 10 ranked women’s strawweight contender. The 34-year-old Brazilian is 5-1 overall in the UFC and she has emerged over the past few years as a serious title threat at 115lbs. She actually opened up her UFC career at 135lbs but after losing by TKO to Leslie Smith, she came back to the Octagon two years later as a strawweight and she hasn’t lost since then. In fact, she has been destroying everyone in her path as she’s won three of her last five fights by stoppage. She also has landed five knockdowns in her last four fights, which shows how much power she has. That being said, she did struggle in a split decision win over Angela Hill in her last fight. It makes you wonder if she is truly ready for the next level of competition, and we’ll find that out against Andrade.
Fight Breakdown: This should be a very exciting fight for as long as it lasts. Both Andrade and Lemos are two of the most powerful strikers in the women’s strawweight division and I fully expect someone to get finished with strikes within the five rounds. Although Lemos has looked great as of late, this is still a huge step up in competition going up against a former champion in Andrade, who is still performing at a high level. The fact Andrade has so much high-level experience and yet she is still the younger fighter in this matchup is incredible, and it just goes to show you that she has been doing this at a high level for such a long time. Lemos has the KO power to finish anyone in the division, so you can’t completely discount her potentially knocking out Andrade. But that being said, Andrade is still the more well-rounded fighter who can mix in her devastating striker with her grappling skills. I have to go with Andrade to win here, and she likely wins this fight by knockout.
Prediction: Jessica Andrade
