It felt like she was back in the thick of adversity even after making it into the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization. Lemos was back to the daily grind. She took a job as a motorcycle taxi driver in Belem, Brazil. During that time, she was involved in a serious accident, 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 nine fights and occupies the No. 3 spot in the UFC’s divisional rankings. With this tale of resilience established, let’s take a look at some of the rivalries that have shaped her into a championship-caliber contender.
Miranda Granger
Lemos had a chip on her shoulder when she returned to action following a two-year suspension to face Miranda Granger at UFC Fight Night 165. She traveled to the other side of the globe to Busan, South Korea in the quest to erase the blemish on her career and announce her return with authority.
Following a back-and-forth scrap, Lemos was able to scramble and latch onto Granger’s neck. She didn’t have the right fulcrum to squeeze in the submission, but her power stood tall as she applied significant pressure to score a technical submission victory at 3:43 of the very first round.
Angela Hill
With four straight victories since her return to the UFC, which included three first-round finishes, Lemos crossed paths with Hill at UFC Fight Night 199. History would suggest that an experienced fighter like Hill would challenge and push Lemos to the limits, and she did just that.
Lemos proved to be the aggressor in the fight, launching several front kicks followed by some punches to get Hill backtracking. Lemos tried to finish the fight on the mat, but Hill recovered, and in a scramble, got into top position with a little over two minutes remaining. The two rose and engaged in a fiery exchange before Hill caught Lemos with a stinging overhand right. The pair went back and forth for the rest of the round.
Hill turned up the pace realizing that Lemos’ output had fizzled out. In the opening minute of round three, Lemos landed the patent front kick again. Hill was unfazed as she kept pressing forward. Hill soon took the dominant position in the closing moments of the fight and against the fence, she kept leading the action, with a spinning elbow dropping Lemos. The pair traded blows till the final bell and Lemos walked away with a 30-27, 29-28, 28-29 split decision victory.
Michelle Waterson-Gomez
Waterson-Gomez paid the price of a costly mistake in her co-main event clash against Lemos at UFC on ABC 3. The Brazilian wasn’t shrinking away from accountability after she lost via first-round submission to Jessica Andrade in her first UFC main event appearance in April 2022. Instead, she turned the setback into a comeback submitting Waterson-Gomez in less than two rounds.
“The Karate Hottie” struggled from the onset against a bigger, defiant Lemos. However, she managed to neutralize her offense with a solid takedown inside the final 90 seconds, where she rode out the majority of the round from the top position.
In the second round, Waterson-Gomez realized that the Octagon canvas was where she wanted the fight to play out, but Lemos played her cards right and was wise to her opponent’s game plan. She quickly sunk in a guillotine choke and rolled over into mount, forcing Waterson-Gomez to yield.
Marina Rodriguez
Ahead of their UFC Fight Night 214 headliner clash, Rodriguez was calling for a title shot with a victory. Lemos threw a wrench into Rodriguez’s plans and staked her claim for a future shot at the UFC’s strawweight belt with an impressive third-round stoppage victory.
The first round played out with both fighters testing the waters and collecting data on their opponent. As the fight progressed, there was a palpable injection of pace and ferocity before Lemos took Rodriguez to the canvas and pulled off a rear-naked choke attempt. In the third round, Rodriguez, just as she seemed to be finding her range, was caught flush with a huge counter right hand. Lemos rushed forward with a flurry of heavy punches that landed clean, forcing referee Jason Herzog to wave off the fight 54 seconds into the third round.