Jessica Andrade will return to strawweight later this year when facing rising contender Amanda Lemos. The fight is expected to go down at UFC’s April 23rd “Fight Night” event, as first reported by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
The fight, which is in the process of being finalized, joins a card that doesn’t have a confirmed location at the moment.
Andrade, a former strawweight champion, had a brief flyweight run over the past two years. She won her debut in the division in 2020, stopping Katlyn Chookagian within a round with strikes.
That victory set Andrade up for a title fight against Valentina Shevchenko. She was unsuccessful in that appearance, getting finished in the second round. Andrade has since bounced back with a victory over Cynthia Calvillo.
Lemos is currently on a strong five-fight winning streak at strawweight. Her last win was a controversial one, as she picked up a razor-thin split decision win over Angela Hill.
Lemos has shown her finishing power in the past as well, stopping Montserrat Conejo and Livinha Souza within a round each.
UFC’s April 23rd event doesn’t have the main event set for it currently. Here are the fights that have been reported thus far.
Bout 3: Clay Guida (37-21) vs. Claudio Puelles (11-2) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Dean Barry (4-1) vs. Mike Jackson (0-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Amanda Lemos (11-1-1) vs. Jessica Andrade (22-9) (Flyweight)
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