Las Vegas, NV — Brazil’s Amanda Lemos is feeling good ahead of her return at UFC Vegas 45 this weekend, where she’ll face off against Angela Hill (replacing Nina Nunes).
“I feel very good, my camp was amazing, and Saturday I’m going to war,” the strawweight exclaimed during Wednesday’s media day promoting the event.
There was a point where Lemos (10-1-1), who is riding a four-fight win streak, wasn’t so upbeat in regards to her MMA career.
“I always believed, but before getting to the UFC, I didn’t want to fight anymore. I almost quit the sport,” she revealed. “And then on 20 day’s notice, they called me to do a fight in the UFC [against Leslie Smith in 2017], so I was like ‘okay, let’s go.'” That led to Lemos starting to believe in herself. “And here I am right now.”
There were setbacks, however, including a drug test failure following the Smith fight. What kept her in the game, Lemos explained, were those around her. “My family, my friends, my coaches, who are more than my coaches, they’re also my friends. And they never let me give up. They were like ‘you have to keep going,’ and that’s why I’m here today.”
From nearly exiting the game to being talked about for a potential title shot, Lemos has come a long way. Asked about the feeling she has now, having come so far, Lemos stated that “I feel like for everything I had to accomplish, and for all the obstacles that I had to surpass, I feel like it was incredible. And that’s what I want to keep doing, I want to keep proving myself, and to keep winning. That’s what I want to do right now.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 45 media day appearance from Amanda Lemos above. More coverage from the event, which takes place this Saturday, December 18, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, can be found below.
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Ricky Simon
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Diego Ferreira
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Derrick Lewis
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Chris Daukaus
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Amanda Lemos
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Belal Muhammad
