PhotoCred: MMA Junkie
Jessica Andrade leans toward Amanda Lemos over Weili Zhang at UFC 292
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade leans toward Amanda Lemos over Weili Zhang in their upcoming title fight at UFC 292.
Andrade returns this Saturday at UFC Nashville when she takes on former TUF winner Tatiana Suarez in a women’s strawweight bout that serves as the co-main event. Later this month, the division’s champion, Zhang, puts her belt on the line against Lemos at UFC 292. Andrade has fought both of these opponents in the past, so if anyone has an accurate prediction, it’s her.
Speaking to AG Fight in a recent interview, Andrade was asked about who she thinks will win this upcoming title fight at 115 lbs, and she said that she is leaning toward Lemos to get the W.
“It’s a difficult fight to analyze, as much as I’ve fought with both of them. Weili is a very versatile fighter, very fast, she’s been improving her jiu-jitsu and wrestling, which is one of Lemos’ shortcomings. Lemos doesn’t have such good jiu-jitsu – at least she didn’t put it into practice in the UFC. But within striking, Amanda is very strong, really strong – we’re talking about strength, power. It hits really hard, you see (laughs). When I fought her, the kick and the punch, I said: ‘My God in heaven’. It looked like mine,” Andrade said. “I believe that if the fight lasts the five rounds, Weili will still have the belt. But if this fight doesn’t last until five rounds, it will probably be a knockout for Amanda Lemos between the second and third rounds. If she manages to find the time and find good strikes against Weili, she will probably win this fight by knockout.”
It’s interesting that Andrade would lean toward Lemos considering she submitted her and yet lost by knockout to Zhang, but we will find out later this month how this fight plays out.
Do you agree with Jessica Andrade on her lean toward Amanda Lemos knocking out Weili Zhang at UFC 292?
