Ex-UFC Title Challenger Faces Surging Contender in Major UFC Fight Night Booking

A matchup with significant implications for the strawweight title picture has reportedly been added to UFC Vegas 120.

Scheduled to take place on August 8 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, NV, UFC Vegas 120 currently has a handful of confirmed fights but no concrete main event, although this week rumors emerged that the card may be headlined by a middleweight clash between Anthony Hernandez and Gregory Rodrigues.

The card doesn’t feature too many notable names as of yet, but Marcel Dorff reports that UFC Vegas 120 has received a major addition in the form of a strawweight matchup between former title challenger Amanda Lemos and Alexia Thainara.

Amanda Lemos Looks to Snap Losing Skid at UFC Vegas 120

Currently sitting at #11 in the newly-unveiled Meta AI UFC rankings, Lemos finds herself in uncharted territory during the first two-fight skid of her 22-fight professional MMA career.

Tatiana Suarez (red gloves) fights Amanda Lemos (blue gloves) during Noche UFC at Frost Bank Center. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The 39-year-old joined the UFC in 2017 and was stopped by Leslie Smith in her promotional debut. That fight was contested at women’s bantamweight, and after dropping down to 115 lbs. the Brazilian proceeded to win five fights in a row and secure three first-round finishes.

Amanda Lemos moves in with a hit against Mackenzie Dern during UFC 298 at Honda Center. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Back-to-back stoppages of Michelle Waterson-Gomez and Marina Rodriguez in 2023 earned Lemos her first title shot at UFC 292, where she suffered a lopsided defeat at the hands of Weili Zhang. Including that result, Lemos is 2-4 across her last six fights and has lost her last two bouts, although she did rebound from her failed title bid with a win over current UFC Strawweight Champion Mackenzie Dern in 2024.

Alexia Thainara Boasts Undefeated Record Since Joining the UFC

The Meta AI UFC rankings have Thainara one spot above Lemos at #10, which is a bit of a surprise given that she has a fraction of the UFC experience that her Brazilian compatriot does.

Molly McCann (red gloves) fights against Alexia Thainara (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

A former SFT strawweight champion in Brazil, Thainara earned a UFC contract in 2024 when she handed undefeated LFA titleholder Rose Conceição her first career loss on Dana White’s Contender Series. “Burguesinha” retired fan favorite Molly McCann with a first-round submission in her UFC debut the following year before taking a decision over Loma Lookboonmee, and Thainara improved to 3-0 in the UFC when she defeated Bruna Brasil in March.

Alexia Thainara (red gloves) fights Bruna Brasil (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The addition of two ranked fighters helps to bolster UFC Vegas 120 quite a bit, and the UFC will presumably confirm more fights in the coming weeks given that the card is now about a month and a half away.

UFC Vegas 120 Fight Card

Billy Quarantillo vs. Diego Ferreira

Amanda Lemos vs. Alexia Thainara

Steven Asplund vs. Guilherme Pat

Juliana Miller vs. Ravena Oliviera

Jose Montanha vs. Louie Sutherland

Donte Johnson vs. Eric McConico

Diyar Nurgozhay vs. Bruno Lopes

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