UFC 298 Odds, Prediction: Amanda Lemos vs. Mackenzie Dern
Amanda Lemos enters Saturday’s fight ranked No. 3 in the UFC strawweight division and No. 12 in the UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings. Mackenzie Dern is No. 7 in the strawweight rankings.
Lemos is a -135 favourite to win on the MMA odds, while Dern is a +110 underdog.
Amanda Lemos UFC 298 Odds
The 36-year-old Lemos has a 13-3 career record with one draw since her professional MMA debut in 2014. Lemos actually began her career as a bantamweight, winning the vacant Jungle Fight women’s bantamweight championship and defending the belt twice. After losing her 2017 UFC debut as a short notice injury replacement, she was banned for two years for a positive drug test.
“Amandinha” dropped down to strawweight in 2019, winning her first five fights in the lower weight class. Overall, she has a 7-3 UFC record with five finishes. She was originally scheduled to face undefeated former Ultimate Fighter winner Tatiana Suarez, who was forced to pull out late with an injury. Lemos last fought in August when she came up short in a title fight against strawweight champion Zhang Weili, losing by unanimous decision.
Lemos has proven to be a powerhouse in her career, with eight of her 17 wins coming by knockout. She’ll definitely want to keep this fight standing up as her defensive grappling was exposed by Zhang Weili and she’s facing an opponent who is an elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.
Mackenzie Dern UFC 298 Odds
Dern, a 30-year-old American with Brazilian roots, is 13-4 in a professional MMA career that dates to 2016. She is a former world No. 1 ranked IBJJF competitor and she is an ADCC and no Gi BJJ (black belt) world champion. Dern has an 8-4 record in the UFC and she has earned three Performance of the Night bonuses and two Fight of the Night bonuses.
Dern has hit a bit of a funk as she has alternated wins and losses over her last six fights. Since 2021, she Dern claimed victories over Nina Nunes, Tecia Torres and Angela Hill, but she has also lost against Marina Rodriguez, Yan Xiaonan and former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. She looked very out-matched against Andrade, losing by second-round TKO last November.
Dern came into the UFC as one of the most hyped prospects in women’s MMA because of her championship background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which helped her in early fights against weaker opponents, but her lack of striking ability has shown as she’s moved up the ladder. Her best shot in this fight is to wear Lemos down, get her to the mat and look for a submission.