Jessica Andrade back to 115, fights Amanda Lemos in April

At least for the immediate future, it appears that Jessica Andrade’s time in the UFC women’s flyweight division has come to a close. The…

By: Zane Simon | 1 year ago
Jessica Andrade back to 115, fights Amanda Lemos in April
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

At least for the immediate future, it appears that Jessica Andrade’s time in the UFC women’s flyweight division has come to a close. The former strawweight champion went 2-1 up at 125, picking up wins over Katlyn Chookagian and Cynthia Calvillo to sandwich an especially brutal loss to Valentina Shevchenko in Andrade’s bid for a second championship belt.

And it would seem that that one loss is likely pushing Andrade back down to her former home at 115—and perhaps the potential for a trilogy title bout against Rose Namajunas.

Whatever the ultimate goal, the first step is set to take place on an April 23rd UFC Fight Night card, where MMA Fighting reports that Andrade has agreed to a fight with rising top contender Amanda Lemos.

‘Amandinha’ (11-1-1) will enter this bout on a five-fight unbeaten streak, having dropped her UFC debut to Leslie Smith in a bantamweight bout in 2017. Most recently, Lemos took a split decision over the ever-game Angela Hill at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus back in December.

For Andrade (22-9), this bout represents her first since a September victory over Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 266. ‘Bate Estaca’ last competed in the strawweight division back in 2020, when she faced Rose Namajunas for a rematch of their 2019 title fight. Andrade lost that bout via split decision.

Fighting reports that the bout has yet to be officially signed, but both Lemos and Andrade have agreed to take the matchup. No official headliner or location for the April 23rd fight card has been confirmed.

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About the author
Zane Simon
Zane Simon

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.

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