Nina Nunes returns to the Octagon in December against rising contender Amanda Lemos

UFC women’s strawweight contender Nina Nunes returns to the Octagon in December when she faces off against rising contender Amanda Lemos.

Combate’s Raphael Marinho was the first to report that Nunes — the No. 7 ranked fighter in the UFC women’s strawweight division — will square off with the No. 13 ranked Lemos at a UFC event set for December 18. There are no other details currently available about this event, but the addition of Nunes vs. Lemos is certainly a nice start to building up the card.

UFC acertou Nina Nunes x Amanda Lemos para evento do dia 18 de dezembro. #feedmma

— Raphael Marinho (@raphamarinho) August 19, 2021

UFC adds Nina Nunes vs. Amanda Lemos for the December 18th event.#feedmma

Nunes (10-7) is, of course, the wife of UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes. Now 35 years old, Nunes came back after a two-year layoff earlier this year when she suffered a first-round submission loss to rising star Mackenzie Dern. That was the first appearance that Nunes made in the Octagon since UFC 238 in June 2019, when she lost a decision to Tatiana Suarez. Overall, Nunes has a 4-4 overall record fighting in the Octagon while dating back to making her debut in the UFC back in 2014.

Lemos (10-1-1) is one of the rising stars at 115lbs in the UFC. The 34-year-old Brazilian is not a young fighter on paper, but she appears to be in the prime of her career as she is fighting at a high level. The Brazilian made her debut back in 2017 and lost via TKO to Leslie Smith at 135lbs. Two years later and Lemos returned as a strawweight. Since then, she is unbeaten with a 4-0 record and she has finished three of her four opponents. In fact, Lemos is coming off of back-to-back first-round knockout wins in her last two fights. A big win here over Nunes would certainly catapult Lemos into the top-10 at 115lbs.

Who do you think wins this women’s strawweight bout between Nina Nunes and Amanda Lemos?