Alexia Thainara's Toughest Test Yet: Amanda Lemos and a Division in Flux

Alexia Thainara has quietly built one of the cleanest runs on the UFC roster: 3-0 inside the Octagon, ranked #12 at strawweight, and 14-1 overall with a 12-fight win streak stretching back to 2019. On August 8, she steps up against former title challenger Amanda Lemos at UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Salkilld in Las Vegas — the first name on her schedule that genuinely jumps off the page.

Thainara is one of a dozen fighters from Dana White's Contender Series Season 8 still undefeated under the UFC banner, and the only woman in that group. She's also the least talked-about, which is odd given how dominant she's been. Seven of her 14 wins have come by submission, and she's leaned hard on grappling since arriving: multiple takedowns against Loma Lookboonmee in Perth, then six more in a unanimous decision over Bruna Brasil in Seattle earlier this year.

The Debut Nobody Saw Coming

Her first UFC start set the tone. She traveled to London and submitted crowd favorite Molly McCann in the opening round — a result that turned out to be McCann's final walk to the cage. Two more wins followed, each pushing the 28-year-old further up the ladder. Thainara said the last two years have been built on hard training and sacrifice, and that a win over a veteran like Lemos would matter enormously for her career.

Lemos arrives at a crossroads. At 15-6-1 and ranked #8, she's managed just two wins in her last six outings — but the losses read like a murderers' row: Zhang Weili in a title fight, Virna Jandiroba, Tatiana Suarez, and most recently a unanimous-decision defeat to Gillian Robertson, who challenges Mackenzie Dern for the belt next week at UFC 330. Her last victory came over fellow Brazilian Iasmin Lucindo at UFC 313, a stylistically similar matchup that makes this one tricky to forecast.

Why This One Matters

The strawweight division is in a strange holding pattern. Zhang Weili's plans are unclear, several veterans are clinging to their spots, and younger talents like Thainara and Fatima Kline are climbing. Whichever ranking set you trust, this is a top-15 clash with real stakes — a potential changing-of-the-guard bout heading into the final stretch of 2026.

Thainara, who trains alongside the equally upbeat Amanda Ribas, says fans can expect the same happy, high-energy version of herself they've seen so far. She's not lobbying for a specific opponent next; she said she'll leave that to God, Dana White and her manager. If she beats Lemos with the same control she's shown through three UFC fights, the choice may not stay in their hands for long.