Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs Jandiroba

Jandiroba touched down in the UFC with an unbeaten record and fresh off successfully defending the Invicta FC strawweight title with a second-round submission win over Janaisa Morandin. She dropped a decision to former champ Carla Esparza in her debut, and went 3-3 over her first six appearances, beating those stationed behind her in the rankings, and faltering against opponents ahead of her in the pecking order.

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Since then, the 36-year-old has strung together three straight victories to climb into the championship mix in the 115-pound weight class, with this weekend’s clash with compatriot Amanda Lemos serving as an opportunity for “Carcará” to introduce herself to a wider audience.

That’s a strange thing to say about a fighter entering off consecutive convincing decision wins over Angela Hill, Marina Rodriguez, and Loopy Godinez — a pair of Top 15 staples and a rising star in the division — but such is life for the ascending Brazilian. Whether it’s because of her earlier setbacks against Esparza, Mackenzie Dern, and Amanda Ribas, or simply fans and media being tethered to the more familiar athletes filling up the Top 10, Jandiroba’s name rarely comes up in discussions about burgeoning contenders in the division, but she’s is undeniably “in the mix.”

A Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt and overall menace in grappling situations, Jandrioba has steadily improved her hands and shown a willingness to engage on the feet, using those moments of chaos and comfort to create openings for takedowns and grappling entanglements. She’s logged at least six minutes of control time in each of her three most recent victories, topping out with double that against Rodriguez, and is happy to work from top position, attacking with punches and elbows and searching for submissions should the opportunity present itself.

Saturday’s contest with Lemos is her first five-round battle inside the Octagon, but her championship experience under the Invicta FC banner should serve her well. While known for her power, Lemos is also rock-steady in the grappling department, so it will be interesting to see what kind of success Jandiroba is able to have if and when she finds her way inside in search of takedowns.

A win over a former title challenger like Lemos will cement Jandiroba’s standing as a title threat herself and elevate her to great recognition and acclaim. She’s standing on the precipice of the most difficult leap to make in combat sports — going from very good to great — and if she’s able to successfully navigate it, the strawweight division will have another contender to consider as the second half of the year kicks off in earnest.

Bruno Silva

It’s rare that an athlete on a three-fight winning streak where they have collected three consecutive Performance of the Night bonuses resides outside the rankings and stands primed to return to action without much fanfare, but that is precisely the position Silva is in as he readies to face off with Cody Durden on Saturday evening at the UFC APEX.

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A longtime training partner of former two-division champ Henry Cejudo, Silva posted consecutive stoppage wins over JP Buys and Victor Rodriguez over a 10-week span in 2021, garnering bonuses for each effort and putting himself on the radar as an ascending name to track in the 125-pound weight class. But nearly two years on the sidelines cooled his momentum, only for the 34-year-old “Bulldog” to return last March, submit Tyson Nam, and register both a third straight victory and third consecutive bonus.

Now, after another year-plus hiatus, he’s slated to make the walk again, facing off with Durden on Saturday’s prelims.

Silva has always been an intriguing figure in the flyweight ranks — someone brandishing rare power for the division with an excellent submission arsenal as a dangerous secondary weapon. What has slowed his progression into and then potentially up the rankings have been the periods of inactivity, as each time he’s flashed, he’s then disappeared for an extended period of time, resulting in others hustling past him in the hierarchy.

Following a shaky start to his UFC tenure, Durden has settled into position as a durable stalwart in the lower third of the rankings, having earned four straight victories prior to his loss to Tagir Ulanbekov last time out. Deploying a wrestling-heavy style where cardio is key, the 33-year-old American is the type of competitor that is going to make everyone work for every inch of ground they earn inside the Octagon, Silva very much included this weekend.

Should Silva maintain his recent form and add another win to this resume on Saturday, it could very well propel him into the Top 15, where even greater opportunities would await him, provided he remains active.

Miranda Maverick

The shuffling of the deck for last weekend’s main event in Denver resulted in Maverick shifting from facing Tracy Cortez this weekend in Las Vegas to taking on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad Dione Barbosa instead.

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Still just 27 years old, Maverick had fallen a step behind some of her young contemporaries following consecutive setbacks to Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield a couple years back, but she’s subsequently put together four wins in five fights, including consecutive victories over Priscila Cachoeira and Andrea Lee heading into this one. Though she’s not quite on the contender level that Barber and Blanchfield currently occupy, Maverick is very much in the pack of talent working towards that tier, and another dominant performance this weekend should keep her moving in that direction.

Since her days fighting under the Invicta FC banner, Maverick has been regarded as an excellent prospect with plus athleticism and considerable physicality for the division. Where she struggled, at times, was in trusting in her weapons and pulling the trigger, though she’s shown improvements in that regard since linking up with her head coach, Eliot Marshall.

Though she’s been on the roster for close to four years and has been projected to be an impact player in the division for the majority of that time, it’s worth remembering that Maverick is just now entering her prime as an athlete, meaning it could be only a matter of time before she makes a push towards the top of the division.

Barbosa represents an interesting opponent for the streaking American at this stage — a 32-year-old in her first year on the roster, coming off a gritty win in her debut and riding a four-fight winning streak. After making quick work of Rainn Guerrero in her DWCS appearance, Barbosa out-lasted Ernesta Kareckaite in her promotional debut at UFC 301, and will surely come into this late-replacement situation looking to maximize her opportunity.

It’s often fights like these that best illustrate whether a fighter in Maverick’s current position is ready to take the next step forward, as there is a “trap game” feel to shifting from facing an established, ascending talent like Cortez to someone making the walk to the Octagon for only the second time. How she navigates this weekend’s assignment will go a long way to showing where Maverick is at in her development and what the future may hold.