UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs Andrade Betting Analysis

Don’t sleep on the UFC Fight Night this Saturday. The Amanda Lemos vs Jessica Andrade fight is a can’t miss as these Brazilian strawweight bangers are not built like your typical 115ers. Both are heavy-handed strikers and will be slinging it for a shot at the title. The UFC odds favor Andrade (22-9-0), the former champion, but we won’t put it past Lemos (11-1-1) to pull off a shocker here.

Lemos Remains an Enigma at 34

For most professional athletes, being 34 years old means your career is coming to an end. But not to an MMA fighter or one of Amanda Lemos’ caliber. Despite her advanced age, Lemos is still just 13 pro fights into her MMA career and she’s hardly taken any damage.

Sure, Lemos was beaten up by a much bigger Leslie Smith at 135 pounds. This marked the only time she’s lost. In 11 of her 12 fights, she’s the one doing the butt-kicking. Lemos has finished three of her five UFC fights. She dusted Montserrat Ruiz in just over half a minute and, prior to that, ground and pounded former Invicta Champion Livinha Souza.

But with just six UFC bouts and an average fight time of 7:38, Lemos may still be a fighter we do not know entirely. This makes the Lemos versus Andrade betting odds a tricky one to navigate. On one hand, we know that Lemos is a fast starter and a finisher. We’ve also seen her go the distance with a testy veteran like Angela Hill.

On the other, fighting someone of Jessica Andrade’s caliber is a big step up in competition. Lemos has also not fought for more than 15 minutes in her career. This is her first main event in the UFC, and with a title shot on the line, only one can guess how the Brazilian will fare. At least, she knows what is at stake.

“If I put on a show against Jessica Andrade, I think it’s very possible that the title comes next and that’s the goal,” Lemos said in an interview with MMAMania.com.

A show is something we can expect. UFC Fight Night odds and predictions do not have this fight going to a decision and the total rounds are set at 2.5 in the sportsbook. Lemos will bring the heat, hoping it gets her a shot at gold.

Andrade Eyeing Second Reign

Jessica Andrade may not be as big of a star as Rose Namajunas, but she may be one win away from making a case that she is the best strawweight on the planet. She will have to beat Lemos first, but Andrade has already compiled a resume that is worthy of a spot in the Hall of Fame.

The diminutive Brazilian is the only women’s fighter to have won a fight in three divisions — from bantamweight to strawweight. She’s fought the likes of Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jedrzejczyk and has the most knockout wins in the strawweight division along with the most fights in UFC history.

Andrade is 1-1 against the current champion Namajunas, and her last four victories have come via knockout. Namajunas is booked in a rematch against Carla Esparza. The trilogy with her feels inevitable at this point, but even if Esparza beats Namajunas again, Andrade should have a good chance at getting another crack at the belt.

So far, only Namajunas has recaptured a lost championship and Andrade is 0-2 in rematches. But that last fight was contentious as far as decisions go with Andrade finishing the fight strong. Had it been five rounds, Andrade may own a 2-0 record against the champ.

As far as her fight with Lemos, Andrade has not lost as a betting favorite since 2015. She is 8-0 in this span and is 11-2 as one in the UFC. It’s business as usual for her as she must dispatch a dangerous opponent for a chance at adding more to her stacked resume.