The potential No. 1 contender at strawweight has a new date.
Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Lemos have a new date for their fight.
Rodriguez spoke to Drake Riggs of MMA Mania and revealed that she and Lemos are no longer fighting at UFC 280, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for Oct. 22 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Guilherme Cruz and Damon Martin of MMA Fighting have reported that Rodriguez vs. Lemos has now joined the line-up for a UFC Fight Night on Nov. 5, with a location and venue soon-to-be determined. There is also no headliner attached to it at this time, so stay tuned for that to be announced.
Rodriguez rebounded from her first loss in the UFC — a split decision to newly crowned champion Carla Esparza at UFC Fight Island 3 — with four consecutive wins. The Brazilian finished Amanda Ribas via second-round TKO and went on to earn decisions over Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan in her most recent appearances.
Lemos saw a five-fight win streak snapped at UFC Vegas 52, where she was submitted by Jessica Andrade via first-round standing arm-triangle choke in April. The Marajó Brothers Team representative returned to the win column with a ‘Performance of the Night’ awarded submission of a perennial contender in Michelle Waterson-Gomez at UFC Long Island this past July.
Rodriguez and Lemos are ranked at No. 3 and No. 8 in the strawweight division, respectively.
UFC 280 is headlined by a lightweight championship fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. With the removal of Rodriguez vs. Lemos, the event has 15 confirmed fights.