Amanda Lemos wasn’t able to travel easy from Mexico for her fight against Marina Rodriguez. But her hard work at UFC Vegas 64 was rewarded.
Lemos stopped Rodriguez in the third round of Saturday’s event with a flurry of punches, and now she wants the winner of Zhang Weili vs. Carla Esparza at UFC 281.
“I should be the next one in line,” Lemos told reporters via translator after the ESPN+ event at UFC APEX. “I’ll go back home, rest for a week go back in the gym, and just wait for the opportunity to be the next one for the title.”
With a victory over Lemos, Rodriguez was the clear choice for a title shot. This 35-year old vet had four wins going into the showdown and was planning to fly to New York City in order to cageside at Weili against Esparza.
Early on, however, Rodriguez was picked off at distance in a lackluster opening frame. Lemos outlanded her opponent 29-19 in significant strikes, per UFC stats, including the hard right hand that visibly stunned Rodriguez.
“We knew that she really liked to set up that back hand, and our strategy was what you saw in the third round,” Lemos said afterward. We were able meet her at the start of the windup for the punch .”
Lemos was delayed in getting to Las Vegas from Brazil until Wednesday. She then managed to fly into Las Vegas on Wednesday. She and Tamires Vidal, two Brazilians who were on her card, were unable to fly due to political protests.
“It didn’t change things,” Lemos said of the protests. My team, my coaches, and I kept our eyes on the things. We had to sleep in the airport. Next day, we finally went into a hotel room. My coaches and my team put up the beds and displaced them all, so it made some space to train. We trained very hard, so that just helped keep the focus.”
If UFC President Dana White called Lemos in New York City to discuss the possibility, she said she would gladly accept it. She expects to be waiting for the call to get the title shot she believes she deserves after upsetting Rodriguez. She believes that the belt will move to the person she is expecting.
“I do believe Zhang Weili is going to win, she’s a more complete, a stronger fighter than Carla Esparza is,” Lemos said.
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