UFC 292: How are fighters predicting Weili Zhang vs. Amanda Lemos?

UFC 292 takes place Saturday night in Boston and features two title fights. The first one is a women's strawweight title bout between current champion Weili Zhang and Amanda Lemos. Zhang is the overwhelming favorite as she remains one of the pound-for-pound best female fighters in the world. However, Lemos has been on a red-hot run and we've seen plenty of upsets in women's title fights lately.

Will we see Zhang get the first title defense of her second reign? Or will there be another title change with Lemos being the newest champion at 115 pounds? Here's a look at some of the most prominent MMA names and who they're predicting to win between Weili Zhang and Amanda Lemos at UFC 292.

Which fighters are predicting Weili Zhang to win?

Unsurprisingly, a good number of MMA fighters are going with Zhang to retain her title given her all-round skill and talents. That includes fellow compatriot Xiaonan Yan as well as a potential future title challenger in Tatiana Suarez.

UFC women's strawweight contender Xiaonan Yan

“I think she can win. If she is ready, she can do what she needs to do. She can defend her title.”

UFC women's strawweight contender Tatiana Suarez

“You know, at first I thought Lemos. But you know what? I'm not underestimating Weili. She has great footwork. I watched Lemos again and I thought about it, and I was like, ‘You know what? I think it's gonna be a lot closer than I thought.' I know that Lemos has power, but Weili has really good footwork, really good movement.

“I'm hoping that Weili just puts everything together, and I think she will, I think she will,” Suarez continued. “I haven't seen much of her (Lemos') jiu-jitsu. But I know she got that beautiful guillotine against Michelle Waterson… Then I saw her getting submitted by Andrade, which I found interesting. I just couldn't imagine getting submitted by Andrade.”

Which fighters are predicting Amanda Lemos to win?

All that said, there are a few picking Lemos for the upset such as her Brazilian compatriots in Jessica Andrade and Mayra Bueno Silva. Interestingly, Andrade is picking Lemos despite beating her and losing to Zhang in their title fight back in 2019. Why? Lemos hits harder than Zhang.

Former UFC women's strawweight champion Jessica Andrade

“Amanda Lemos is very tough. Her striking is very, very hard. If Weili doesn’t be careful, doesn’t take her down, or doesn’t work well with her jiu-jitsu, I believe Lemos becomes the new champion because of the power she has. She’s very, very strong… I’ve fought both, I got hit hard by both, and I’ll tell you this: Lemos hits harder than Weili.

“If Weili doesn’t use the right strategy and work on the ground, finds the timing to shoot for takedowns, it will end badly for her… I think Lemos wins. If it goes past the second or third rounds, Lemos wins. I don’t know if Lemos can do five rounds with Weili, she’s been doing this for a few years now. But in terms of power, if Weili doesn’t work against the fence and get Lemos tired, it will definitely be a knockout in the second or third round.”

UFC women's bantamweight Mayra Bueno Silva

“Amanda Lemos, of course. I think so [she knocks her out].”

UFC women's strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern

“I think Amanda Lemos is gonna win. She's tough, strong, a good counter puncher. I think she's gonna get the win and I think she has a ground game, too. So I think she'll get it and it'll be a great fight.”

UFC women's strawweight Yazmin Jauregui 

“Man, that’s a tough one. I think Lemos could win. Lemos has a hard punch, but we’ll have to see how the fight goes on the ground. Weili is looking good. I think it was against Carla Esparza that she wrestled and wrestled well. She’s complete, but Lemos is super strong. I think she’s ready for this moment and could take the win.

“Honestly, I think Lemos is going to give her war,” Jauregui said. “Weili is very fast, she’s very aggressive, but she needs to be very intelligent because Lemos has a punch, and she’s strong. So if Weili doesn’t keep focused, a punch could wobble her.”