Sherdog Prospect Watch: Andre Lima

Andre Lima intends to make waves in the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight division.

The 25-year-old Brazilian will look to keep his perfect professional record intact when he does battle with Felipe dos Santos as part of the UFC Fight Night 242 undercard this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Lima carries a 9-0 record into the cage, having put two wins in the books—one by disqualification, the other via split scorecards—since he punched his ticket to the promotion on Dana White’s Contender Series in October.

Dos Santos, 23, provides his latest challenge. The once-beaten Diego Lima protégé has won four of his past five bouts. Dos Santos last suited up on Feb. 24, when he rebounded from a unanimous decision defeat to former Rizin Fighting Federation champion Manel Kape by outpointing Victor Altamirano across three rounds at UFC Fight Night 237.

“The fight against Felipe has everything for it to be one of the best fights of the night,” Lima said. “He has a very aggressive style. I studied his fights against Kape and Altamirano. Our work is based on the errors we saw, and we’re also looking at improving my game. I’ve been working hard on my wrestling. We’ll face off on the feet, but if we end up grappling, I’ll be ready. I believe that I have better ground skills.”

Lima has secured five of his eight career victories by knockout or technical knockout. He last competed at UFC 302, where he took a split decision from former Cage Titans Fighting Championship titleholder Mitch Raposo—a short-notice substitution for Nyamjargal Tumendemberel—on June 1. Tumendemberel had been tabbed to replace Hyun Sung Park.

“The opponent changes messed a bit with our original strategy,” Lima said. “I had to study three different opponents. The last one turned out to be Raposo, who’s a wrestler. I couldn’t expose myself too much, as he wanted to shoot for my legs. We couldn’t put together a new strategy in a week. We chose to go for fast kicks, controlling the distance and only throwing strikes that wouldn’t result in me being taken down.”

Complicating matters further, Lima missed weight for the match by four pounds. He forfeited 30% of his purse as a result.

“I retained too much water during my trip—three liters,” Lima said. “We did everything correctly before that with my nutritionist, who happened to be with me at the fight. Unfortunately, these things happen.”

Lima split his latest training camp between Team Lucas Mineiro and the Mascote Team. He was surrounded by group of talented stablemates, including Danilo Adreani, Marciano Ferreira and Hugo Paiva.

“I’m feeling very well prepared,” Lima said. “I have a lot of support here.”

With two 2024 appearances already under his belt, Lima plans to turn away dos Santos and then decompress with a much-needed sabbatical.

“Since I signed up with the UFC, I haven’t had a chance to rest,” he said. “My goal right now is to win, score a bonus and take a break to rest.”