Against the odds, UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Lemos turned out to be a sleeper hit, with a variety of showcase performances and highlight-reel moments. Jessica Andrade was able to secure the first standing arm triangle submission finish in UFC history, whilst Claudio Puelles picked up his third kneebar win for the promotion. Charles Jourdain […]
Against the odds, UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Lemos turned out to be a sleeper hit, with a variety of showcase performances and highlight-reel moments.
Jessica Andrade was able to secure the first standing arm triangle submission finish in UFC history, whilst Claudio Puelles picked up his third kneebar win for the promotion. Charles Jourdain and Marc-André Barriault both also picked up impressive submission victories, whilst the likes of Sergey Khandozhko and Tyson Pedro knocked their opponents out cold. If your were betting over at https://aviatorjeux.fr maybe you won big!?
In the following article, we’ll break down what we at Lowkick MMA believe are the fights to make after UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Lemos.
Jessica Andrade vs. Mackenzie Dern
Whilst Jessica Andrade did call out the winner of Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang 2, there is no knowing when either athlete will be in fighting shape once their bout is over, especially considering how the first fight played out.
Instead, a bout with BJJ specialist Mackenzie Dern makes much more sense. Dern recently defeated Tecia Torres in a competitive, and slightly controversial, three-round war. Currently sitting at No.4 in the strawweight rankings, a win over Dern could well place Andrade in the No.1 contender position.
After submitting Clay Guida with a kneebar in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Lemos, Claudio Puelles has found himself on a five-fight winning streak. It is clearly time for the talented Peruvian to begin taking on that next level of opposition and forcing himself into that prestigious lightweight top 15.
Mark Madsen is a fighter in a very similar position, having recently defeated Vinc Pichel at UFC 273. Stylistically, a fight between the two men would be extremely intriguing. Madsen has a smothering wrestling-based game, a product of his time competing in the Olympics. However, in order to utilize this skill set, he would potentially be throwing himself right into danger, as Puelles’ submission grappling is among the most lethal in the division.
Maycee Barber vs. The Winner of Erin Blanchfield and JJ Aldrich
Whilst injuries and some slightly less than stellar performances have somewhat taken away the hype behind Maycee Barber, her performance at UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Lemos proved she is still very much a comeptetior in the women’s flyweight division. Barber dominated talented grappler Montana De La Rosa over three rounds, with her clinch work being particularly impressive.
Barber’s division is relatively booked up right now, so she will likely have to take the winner of one of the scheduled bout. A fight that would make a lot of sense for Barber would be against the winner of Erin Blanchfield and JJ Aldrich, both rising prospects who sit in similar positions to Barber in the rankings.
Blanchfield will likely be the favorite to win her fight with Aldrich, and with good reason. The young prospect has looked nothing short of sensation so far in her UFC career. If you are looking to back her, then Jeux de l Avion is the place to go for the best odds around.
Charles Jourdain’s submission stoppage over Lando Vannata was especially impressive considering many believed it would be Vannata who would have the grappling advantage in this fight. Whilst it was Vannata who initiated the takedown, Jourdain was quick to react, locking up a tight guillotine that quickly had his opponent tapping.
Jourdain took to the mic and respectfully called out Edson Barboza. There doesn’t seem any reason not to book this fight, with Jourdain rising in the rankings and Barboza struggling as of late. It would be the perfect prospect vs. veteran matchup that would determine just how far Jourdain can go in this 145lb division.
On Saturday night, the MMA leader returned for UFC Vegas 52, the second of three consecutive cards booked for the Apex facility. While last weekend’s event brought with it huge implications for the welterweight title picture, this card certainly didn’t have the same at stake. However, what it did have was a former champion returning…
In the headliner, former UFC women’s strawweight titleholder Jéssica Andrade returned to 115 pounds after a trio of appearances at flyweight, which included a failed shot at gold. In her way of a return to the championship conversation was rising contender Amanda Lemos, who promised a Brazilian showcase in the UFC Vegas 52 main event.
With promising prospects like Claudio Puelles and Dean Barry, the returning names of Mike Jackson and Tyson Pedro, and the always-entertaining Clay Guida and Charles Jourdain all in action, the card promised to deliver some fun scraps, even if it did lack the UFC’s heavy-hitting names.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the positives and negatives from UFC Vegas 52.
It’s always a negative when a matchup that had Fight of the Night written all over it doesn’t make it to the Octagon. On a card that was thinner than previous ones, that was especially painful when the flyweight clash between Manel Kape and Sumudaerji fell off the UFC Vegas 52 slate.
Like many, this was the fight I had my eye on. Kape, a former Rizin champion, rode a lot of hype from Asia and Europe when he crossed the Atlantic to compete in the UFC. While two decision losses stalled his start, consecutive first-round knockouts have since ascended him into the 125-pound rankings.
“The Tibetan Eagle,” meanwhile, has been in similar form, rising to #12 on the flyweight ladder with three straight victories, including a decision triumph over Zarrukh Adashev last time out.
With immense speed and skill, as well as 24 knockouts between them, their bout promised to be a barnburner. Unfortunately for fans, the contest was canceled in fight week when “Starboy” withdrew due to “personal reasons.” In a now-deleted tweet, the Angolan-Portuguese fighter suggested it was due to him being flagged by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the DHCMT Turinabol M3 metabolite.
The reasoning for Kape’s withdrawal certainly has the potential to be a negative in its own right. However, if Rob Font’s situation in 2021 proved anything, it’s that conclusions can’t be jumped to in these instances.
So, with that said, we’ll stick to the disappointment of fans missing out on a sure-fire flyweight banger.
Nothing sets the tone for a night of fights quite like two low blows, a deep eye poke, and a disqualification. The list of negatives from the opening bout of UFC Vegas 52 is endless, but I’ll group them together to save us all time re-visiting that horror show.
In one of the more intriguing matchups on paper, Ireland’s Dean Barry made his debut. The 29-year-old had a torrid time in 2021 with canceled bouts, and he didn’t fare much better when his fight with “The Truth” finally happened.
The first round was eventful, but for all the wrong reasons. After previously being warned about straying low with his kicks, Barry launched a vicious spinning strike to the gentlemen’s area, if you will. It wouldn’t be excessive to place it up there with the nastiest strikes south of the border in recent memory.
What better way to welcome Jackson, who hadn’t been in action since 2018, back to the cage than with a horrific low blow, followed up by a tough-to-watch eye poke? The term ‘poke’ is also generous. Gauge certainly wouldn’t be an over-exaggeration.
This was about as negative a result as anyone could have imagined. The debuting Barry saw his first foray on MMA’s biggest stage end in disaster, the returning Jackson saw his comeback end very differently than he’d have envisioned, and fans were given a terrible start to the event.
It might be hard to acknowledge a positive from the UFC Vegas 52 opener, but after last weekend’s shambolic technical decisions, the disqualification ruling was, well, a relief…
Not to bang the same drum as UFC Vegas 51, but the ‘intentional’ or ‘unintentional’ ruling is as baffling as Daniel Cormier’s knowledge of the scoring criteria. Last weekend, we saw Martin Buday and Caio Borralho walk away with technical decisions after delivering illegal shots that rendered their opponents unable to continue.
With that in mind, it was refreshing to see referee Chris Tognoni actually punish a blatantly illegal move. This time, a ruling that the move was intentional led to a DQ, while Dan Miragliotta’s differing conclusion to last weekend’s incidents took the bouts to the scorecards.
While I’ve added this as a positive, the inconsistency could easily have it as a negative. I’d also be hesitant to say Barry’s discretion was intentional, but that shouldn’t matter, and that’s the problem. Had Tognoni perceived the gauge to have been unintentional, which I don’t think would have been necessarily wrong, would that have prevented a DQ? It shouldn’t.
Ultimately, fighters are responsible for their weapons, and if they misuse them, resulting in their opponent being unable to fight on, why should they avoid being penalized?
I'm glad Chris Tognoni actually had the balls to call the DQ there. So many refs would have taken the easy way out and went with a No Contest. DQ was the right call after three fouls in the first round. -1500 favorite Dean Barry goes down, and MMA once again is wild. #UFCVegas52
Another positive to come from this was the quick transition from Cormier’s ‘no way the ref rules this a DQ’ to Joe Martinez reading out ‘by DQ’. Gold.
Negative – A Fight Day Cancelation
When Manel Kape withdrew, my main focus turned toward Alexandr Romanov. Imagine my joy when Brendan Fitzgerald brought us the news midway through the prelims that the Moldovan’s main card collision with Chase Sherman was off, owing to a “minor health issue” on the short-notice replacement’s side.
When it rains, it pours.
At 15-0 with 14 finishes, Romanov is about as exciting a heavyweight prospect as you can get. That status was enhanced when he submitted Marcos Rogério de Lima via forearm choke in 2020. While a technical decision victory over Juan Espino courtesy of a groin strike from the Spaniard, wasn’t ideal, “King Kong” reminded us of his potential when he finished Jared Vanderaa last October.
The first disappointment with Romanov’s scheduled fifth walk to the Octagon came when an intriguing fight versus Tanner Boser fell through. The Moldovan’s place on the card was initially saved by the returning Sherman, who’d only recently been released by the UFC, only for it to be struck off the event just hours before both were due to make the walk.
As well as the disappointment of missing out on seeing Romanov in action, it was also a negative to see Sherman miss out on a chance to bounce back with another opportunity on MMA’s biggest stage. Luckily, it appears he’ll be able to do so next weekend at UFC Vegas 53 instead.
Fight day cancelations are always a negative, but on an already-depleted and under-the-radar card, this one hurt.
BREAKING: Alexandr Romanov vs. Chase Sherman OFF due to a minor health issue to Sherman #UFCVegas52
Welcome to the Octagon win column Aoriqileng. It took three outings, but “The Mongolian Murderer” has finally lived up to his moniker.
At UFC Vegas 52, the 28-year-old shared the cage with England’s Cameron Else. Having fallen short in a war against Jeff Molina at UFC 261 and lost his sophomore outing to Cody Durden, Aoriqileng was in desperate need of a rebound performance on Saturday to avoid an 0-3 UFC slate that not many survive.
Not only did he record his first win in MMA’s premier organization, but he did so with something we don’t see too often: brutal body shots. We all love a knockout, but crumpling an opponent with a flush shot to the body must be similarly satisfying.
From the route to victory to the victor himself, this fight was a positive. The negative? An atrociously late stoppage from Keith Petersen. Given that I’m feeling generous, I won’t give the “No Nonsense” ref his own negative section, but it wasn’t good…
The leg kicks certainly did the damage and made it pretty clear where the result was headed, but after being sat down against the fence towards the end of the first round thanks to a chopping kick, it was a brutal right uppercut that sent the 38-year-old to sleep. The follow-up shots only added to what was a memorable return for Pedro.
Having not competed since 2018, it was great to see Pedro not only back in the Octagon, but doing what he does best: finishing fights. Now back on track, it’ll be interesting to see what’s next for “Kangaroo Paws” as he looks to make up for lost time.
How about that? Back-to-back guillotine chokes to open the main card from two Canadians known for their striking prowess.
First came middleweight Marc-André Barriault. After being moved to the main card thanks to a fight-day cancelation, “Power Bar” made the most of his late promotion, opening the five-fight main slate in some style.
Barriault’s clash with Jordan Wright was widely expected to come to a close relatively quick. But while that turned out to be the case, the Quebec native securing his first-ever submission victory certainly didn’t seem to be on the cards leading into UFC Vegas 52.
Soon after, exciting featherweight Charles Jourdain, who also hails from Quebec, said ‘anything you can do, I can do better’.
Following in his compatriot’s footsteps, “Air” brought the level of excitement that his bout with Lando Vannata was expected to bring, first on the feet, and then on the ground. After flooring “Groovy” with a sharp right hand, Jourdain attacked the neck with one arm and notched his first tap-out win in the UFC.
Jourdain is a black belt, and don’t you forget it…
The strawweight division is undoubtedly the strongest female weight class in the UFC. While the higher weights have two GOAT contenders in Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko, their dominance over the past few years, up until UFC 269 for the “Lioness,” has left the flyweight and bantamweight divisions largely uninteresting, and the featherweight roster non-existent.
The same can’t be said for the strawweight division, which has not only seen the gold change hands numerous times in recent years but possesses a host of competitive contenders. Joining champion Rose Namajunas at the top of the 115-pound ladder are Carla Esparza, Zhang Weili, Marina Rodriguez, Mackenzie Dern, Joanna J?drzejczyk, and Yan Xiaonan.
As if that group of elites needed more company, Jéssica Andrade announced her re-arrival at strawweight by jumping right back into the title conversation in the UFC Vegas 52 main event.
Not only did she return to the division with a win, but she did so in style, recording the first standing arm-triangle choke in UFC history. Andrade now boasts wins via strikes, slams, guillotines, body shots, and, now, a first-time standing submission.
If versatile had a human form, it would be “Bate Estaca.”
Jéssica Andrade showed that she’s still a strawweight title contender by defeating Amanda Lemos with the first standing arm triangle submission in UFC history. Andrade secured the win just over three minutes into the main event bout, marking a successful return to the strawweight division. The former champ is now riding a two-fight win streak,…
Jéssica Andrade showed that she’s still a strawweight title contender by defeating Amanda Lemos with the first standing arm triangle submission in UFC history.
Andrade secured the win just over three minutes into the main event bout, marking a successful return to the strawweight division. The former champ is now riding a two-fight win streak, having previously defeated Cynthia Calvillo at flyweight. Thanks to her almost two-year absence from the strawweight division, Andrade went into this fight unranked.
For Lemos, the loss was her first in six bouts, ending a run that saw her become the #10- ranked strawweight and most recently defeat Angela Hill. We can now expect Andrade to once again break into the division’s top ten in the coming days.
You can catch all the highlights of the main event below.
Former UFC strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade makes a successful return to her prior 115lb stomping grounds — making relatively short work of compatriot, Amanda Lemos with an Octagon-first, standing arm triangle choke win to finish off the UFC Vegas 52 card. Andrade, a former undisputed strawweight champion, made her first Octagon outing at the limit […]
Former UFC strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade makes a successful return to her prior 115lb stomping grounds — making relatively short work of compatriot, Amanda Lemos with an Octagon-first, standing arm triangle choke win to finish off the UFC Vegas 52 card.
Andrade, a former undisputed strawweight champion, made her first Octagon outing at the limit since July 2020 — entering the all-Brazilian main event off the back of a September knockout win over Cynthia Calvillo.
Tying up Belem veteran, Lemos in the clinch during an exchange, Andrade immediately attempted to set up a standing arm-triangle choke.
Pushing Lemos back to the fence, the #10 ranked challenger tried to defense the submission onslaught, and despite the fact Andrade was unable to drag Lemos to the canvas, the former forced the tap eventually from a standing position — with the first vertical arm triangle win in promotional antiquity.
Below, catch the highlights from Jessica Andrade’s first round victory against Amanda Lemos
LowKick MMA will be bringing you UFC Vegas 52: Lemos vs. Andrade results throughout the night (Sat. April 23. 2022) live from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Taking main event status at the UFC Apex facility in ‘Sin City’ — a pivotal, potential strawweight title-eliminator between the streaking #10 ranked contender, Amanda Lemos, and former undisputed […]
LowKick MMA will be bringing you UFC Vegas 52: Lemos vs. Andrade results throughout the night (Sat. April 23. 2022) live from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Taking main event status at the UFC Apex facility in ‘Sin City’ — a pivotal, potential strawweight title-eliminator between the streaking #10 ranked contender, Amanda Lemos, and former undisputed division champion, Jessica Andrade.
Belem veteran, Lemos has managed to land a five-fight winning run since a close UFC debut decision loss, most recently besting common-foe, Angela Hill with a close, split decision win back at UFC Vegas 46 in December. The bout earned Lemos and Hill Fight of the Night honors.
Making her return to 115lbs for the first time since July 2020, Parana native, Andrade most recently turned in a one-sided late opening round knockout win over Cynthia Calvillo in her most recent flyweight matchup in September of last year at UFC 266.
Jéssica Andrade is confident that headlining UFC Vegas 52 is proof her presence has made a statement within the promotion. As a former UFC strawweight champion, Andrade knows what it takes to claim gold. Her outstanding performances in the Octagon have made fans consider her one of the best women in MMA to ever do…
Jéssica Andrade is confident that headlining UFC Vegas 52 is proof her presence has made a statement within the promotion.
As a former UFC strawweight champion, Andrade knows what it takes to claim gold. Her outstanding performances in the Octagon have made fans consider her one of the best women in MMA to ever do it.
Jessica Andrade, via Getty
At 22 wins and 9 losses, her fight record isn’t perfect, but her résumé is one of the most impressive. Now headlining her third UFC event, Andrade expressed in a pre-fight interview that she feels her hard work is definitely being noticed by the promotion:
“I think it’s a lot about an answer for how our work is being done. For me to be called for a main event, I think it means that I’m doing something right. The work that I’m putting out is being noticed by the UFC and they’re trusting me to close the show. And to have two Brazilian women fighting in the main event is also huge.”
And the #1 flyweight has much to be proud of. Andrade has proven she will back down to no one and has fought against some of the women’s division’s toughest competitors.
Andrade showed absolutely no fear in the face of pound-for-pound queen Valentina Schevchenko or former strawweight champion Joanna J?drzejczyk.
One of her most notable victories was back in 2019 when she defeated Rose Namajunas for the strawweight belt. That slam KO was felt around the world, and those who didn’t know about the “Bate Estaca” became fully aware at that moment.
Jessica Andrade slams Rose Namajunas at UFC 237, via CBS Sports
And tonight, Andrade plans to put on another noteworthy performance to signify the special kind of fighter she is.
“I think it’s a great statement to the work that we’re putting to the UFC, and you can be sure that I’m there to prove (to) Dana White. If he chose me to do the main event, it’s because I have something special. I’m gonna be there to prove that to him, to the fans, and to everybody that’s watching.”
Since her defeat to Shevchenko last year, Andrade returned to the winner’s circle after beating Cynthia Cavillo at UFC 266. Ending Amanda Lemos’s 5-fight undefeated streak after seven months out of the Octagon would most certainly make another major statement.
What are your thoughts on Jéssica Andrade’s comments about being called for a UFC main event?
@JessicaMMAPro strength is DIFFERENT.
Wow!
Former UFC strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade makes a successful return to her prior 115lb stomping grounds — making relatively short work of compatriot, Amanda Lemos with an Octagon-first, standing arm triangle choke win to finish off the UFC Vegas 52 card. Andrade, a former undisputed strawweight champion, made her first Octagon outing at the limit […]
LowKick MMA will be bringing you UFC Vegas 52: Lemos vs. Andrade results throughout the night (Sat. April 23. 2022) live from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Taking main event status at the UFC Apex facility in ‘Sin City’ — a pivotal, potential strawweight title-eliminator between the streaking #10 ranked contender, Amanda Lemos, and former undisputed […]
