BOSTON – [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] has experienced some of the most difficult obstacles life can offer, but if she can claim the strawweight title from Zhang Weili at UFC 292, she’ll have no regrets.
The past eight years alone have been an extreme burden on Lemos (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who challenges champion Weili (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in Saturday’s pay-per-view co-headliner at TD Garden following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. Following her UFC debut in 2016, Lemos tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for two years from competition.
During her time away from the sport, Lemos took a job as a motorcycle taxi driver in Belem, Brazil. She was involved in a serious accident, however, which resulted in a spinal fracture that required surgery in 2018. She finally returned to the octagon in December 2019, and since then has won seven of eight and positioned herself on the doorstep of UFC gold.
“The story of my life, everything I’ve been through, it’s been like a movie,” Lemos told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at Wednesday’s UFC 292 media day. “It would take me days to go through everything and tell you the story. The fact that I’m here, that I’m fighting for a belt and I’m going to be a champion, it makes me see that everything was worth it. And then I’ll have a lot of stores to tell.”
Despite her in-cage success in recent years, Lemos is positioned as a sizable betting underdog against Weili. The Brazilian thinks she has “advantages across the board in all areas,” though, and people are going to be surprised when she not only holds her own on fight night, but comes out the victor.
“People may not be talking about it now, but they will be talking about it after,” Lemos said. “Because it’s going to be a war. And it’s going to be historic. … The more they forget (about me), the more motivation I have to go out there and get the title. On Saturday, they will know who Amanda Lemos is.”
Lemos is aware of the difficult task ahead of her, but that doesn’t deter her confidence. Life has rarely thrown her something easy along the way, so in her mind, the apex of her championship story would only feel right if it follows the same narrative.
“Every fight I’ve had, I’ve always imagined I was actually fighting a champion,” Lemos said. “I’m in a good place. My head is in a good place, and I’m ready to bring a belt home. … Weili is coming very strong. A complete athlete and very strong coming up, but I’m going to show that I’m stronger and on Saturday I’m going to show who is actually the strongest in the division.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.