Athletes
A DECADE IN, AMANDA LEMOS IS GRATEFUL AND STILL CHASING HER DREAMS
On A Week Filled With Anniversaries, The Former Title Challenger Reflects On Her Journey To Saturday’s Clash With Fellow Brazilian Virna Jandiroba
As of Wednesday, Amanda Lemos will officially be 10 years into her mixed martial arts career.
“You serious?” asked the Brazilian contender, speaking with the aid of translator Fabiano Buskei when asked about the anniversary of her first fight.
Earlier in the day, the two had been trying to calculate how long Lemos, who faces fellow Brazilian Virna Jandiroba in a critical strawweight clash that serves as this weekend’s main event in Las Vegas, had been competing in the sport, working backwards from her being 37 and concluding it had to be close to a decade.
It has, in fact, been exactly a decade.
“I was playing soccer, and a girl on the other team that trained boxing and MMA knew that I trained boxing in the past,” said Lemos, explaining how she became involved with the sport. "She bugged me — she really bugged me; she was on my a** about this — and I thought, ‘You wanna beat me up or something? Why are you doing this?’
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“She really wanted me to go to the gym and try out, so she ended up getting me into the gym. Iuri “Marajo” (Alcantara) was there and she was training with Beto Brandao, who is my boxing coach to this day.
“It was right away,” she added. “I went there, saw those people, it made sense, and I started training.”
Two weeks later, she took her first fight on July 17, 2014, earning a first-round stoppage win. A decade later, Lemos is one of the top talents in the UFC strawweight division, less than a year removed from having challenged Zhang Weili for the title, and a fixture in the upper echelon of the talent-rich 115-pound weight class.
Amanda Lemos vs Virna Jandiroba | UFC Journey
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Amanda Lemos vs Virna Jandiroba | UFC Journey
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“It’s awesome to have put together this career,” began Lemos, reflecting on all she’s accomplished in her first 10 years in the sport, which includes going 8-2 in the UFC since transitioning to strawweight following her debut loss to Leslie Smith at bantamweight, which, ironically, came seven years ago Tuesday.
“I feel very accomplished in my career, though I do have more to give,” she added, still focused on adding to her resume and legacy. “I do believe it’s the beginning of something. I have a lot more to show and I do believe that I will become champion in this division.”
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What she appreciates most is getting to share this experience with her seven-year-old daughter, and one of the things she still hopes to do is have her be a part of one of her upcoming fight week experiences.
“She’s been able to see this, experience this, live this,” she said, smiling proudly. “When I have a fight scheduled, she’s on me about diet. If I’m eating crap, she takes it out of my hands, like, ‘You’ve got to watch yourself! You have something important.’
“It’s very gratifying to be able to give her a life that I wasn’t able to have. I would really like her to come to this experience — to bring her to fight week to watch a fight of mine; that’s still a dream I have.”
Saturday’s main event assignment in Las Vegas against Jandiroba is the second fight of Lemos’ 2024 campaign, as the former title challenger returned to action and the win column at UFC 298 in February, registering a unanimous decision win over Mackenzie Dern.
On paper, it looks like a straightforward triumph on the scorecards — Lemos earned 29-28 scores across the board — but in reality, it was an ultra-competitive battle that was a considerable challenge for the Brazilian contender, who won the first two rounds on all three scorecards before holding off the feverish late push of Dern, who replaced Tatiana Suarez roughly a month before the event.
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“When you have a loss, it’s very hard to come back,” admitted Lemos, who was dominated in her championship bout with Zhang last August, losing all but one round on the three combined scorecards, with the champion earning 10-8 scores in the first and fifth rounds from two of the three judges. “So to come back and get a win is a sensation like ‘mission accomplished.’
“That pressure is not good, but it also can be fuel for you to come back, fight again, get a win, and get back in the win column to chase more wins,” she added. “I’ve done my duty, and from now on, it’s only wins.”
Full Fight | Amanda Lemos vs Marina Rodriguez
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Full Fight | Amanda Lemos vs Marina Rodriguez
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Saturday’s contest marks the third time Lemos has headlined a UFC Fight Night event, and as with each of her two previous opportunities, she’ll share the cage with a fellow Brazilian.
For some athletes, competing against a compatriot can be challenging or something they would prefer to avoid if possible, but the way Lemos sees it, sharing the Octagon with another competitor from Brazil is inevitable given her position in the rankings and the makeup of the 115-pound ranks.
“I always tell my coaches it’s inevitable because there are so many of us Brazilians in this division,” Lemos said with a smile.
At present, 10 members of the Top 15 are Brazilian, including former champ Jessica Andrade, Marina Rodriguez, and Amanda Ribas.
“And now when you get to the Top 10, Top 5,” she added, pausing to find the right words. “I’m pretty chill about it now, knowing I’m always going to fight a Brazilian.”
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In Jandiroba, the 37-year-old title picture mainstay faces an ascending talent on the best run of her UFC career, having garnered three straight wins, capped by a unanimous decision victory over Loopy Godinez earlier this year in Atlantic City.
“Virna is in the Top 5 here — someone that is coming up very well,” Lemos said of her weekend opponent, who arrived in the UFC with a 14-0 record after winning and successfully defending the Invicta FC strawweight title. “She’s very aggressive — she has a very aggressive grappling game — and that’s what I need to be aware of to come out with a victory on Saturday.”
And at this moment, that’s the only thing Lemos is focused on — earning another victory, no matter the method, though she knows what she’d like next, as well.
“Right now, I’m 100 percent focused on winning this fight on Saturday, but I don’t know how (I will win),” she said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be by finish, by knockout, by decision, but I know I am prepared to come out with a win.
“After that, I’m ready for another title shot.”
UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs Jandiroba took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. See the Final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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