Andrea ‘KGB’ Lee signed for UFC 216, promptly pulled from card over USADA rules
LFA champion and Invicta standout Andrea Lee was all set to make her UFC debut next week at UFC 216, but now she’ll have to wait a full 6 months due to a failed 2016 drug test.
After becoming staple in the Invicta ranks – and doing double duty to become LFA champion – MMAJunkie reported that Andrea Lee was all set to get the call-up to the UFC. She was supposed to fight fellow newcomer, and longtime Braizlian MMA veteran, Kalindra Faria at UFC 216 on October 7th in Las Vegas, NV.
‘KGB’ has been a professional fighter since 2014, and currently holds a record of 8-2. Four of those wins have been submissions, as well as a TKO and a phenomenal body shot KO of Jenny Liou at Invicta FC 21 in January of this year. She had previously racked up an amateur record of 8-3 with three submissions and two TKOs.
While she primarily employs a kickboxing style, she’s shown a very solid ground game as well. She holds wins over current TUF contestants Rachael Ostovich and Ariel Beck (whom she defeated for the then-vacant LFA title), and is currently a four-win streak. Her only losses are in bouts against a resurgent Roxanne Modafferi and a defeat at the hands of Sarah D’Alelio in September of last year.
Unfortunately, she also failed a drug test back in 2016 for diuretics, stemming from a pre-fight screening for Invicta FC 16, where Lee lost to Sarah D’ALelio. That positive test result means, according to USADA regulations, that Lee has to undergo a 6-month pre-debut screening period after signing with the UFC. As such, MMA Fighting reports that she’s been removed from the UFC 216 fight card.
She’s still expected to remain under contract, and to make her debut once the screening window has passed. In the meantime, the UFC has been left scrambling to keep her opponent on the card.
Kalindra Faria is currently riding her own three-fight win streak. Faria has had losses to Carina Damm, Vanessa Porto, and Claudia Gadelha, as well as Jessica Aguilar in WSOF and Karolina Kowakiewicz at KSW 30. She avenged the loss to Carina Damm twice. Once in 2013, and again in her last bout at Titan FC 41 – for the then-vacant bantamweight title. She also holds wins on the Brazilian circuit against Aline Sattelmeyer and Alline Serio, as well as former Super Fight League fighter Sanja Sučević. Faria has five submission wins along with seven TKOs on her professional record.
The bout was hoped to replace the recently cancelled fight between Paige VanZant and Jessica Eye. Hopefully a new opponent can be found before fight night.
Another set of women’s bouts have also been made official for the UFC’s debut in mainland China, at UFC Fight Night 122 on November 25th. Former TUF bantamweight contestant Gina Mazany will look to rebound from her February loss to Olympian Sara McMann when she takes on Chinese bantamweight Yanan Wu.
Wu has a professional record of 8-1, with her lone loss being a TKO loss to current Invicta bantamweight champion Yana Kunitskaya. Wu’s record includes six TKO wins and one submission. But it’s worth noting that her 2015 split decision victory over Bo Meng was her only win against an opponent without any officially recorded wins.
Joining the Yanan We vs. Gina Mazany bout, Kailin Curran will return to action against another Chinese prospect in Xiaonan Yan. Curran is 1-5 in her UFC run with her only win coming against Emily Kagan in 2015. She had a tough loss to Australian submission specialist Alex Chambers in a fight she was arguably winning, and some competitive fights against Jamie Moyle and Alexandra Albu.
On the flip side, Yan has early wins over Chinese veteran Jin Tang and PXC talent Gina Iniong. After a 2010 submission loss, she’s won five straight against opponents who had absolutely no wins on their record at the time. Her most recent fight was against Japanese vet Emi Fujino, which ended in a no-contest due to a cut.
UFC Fight Night 122 will be headlined by former middleweight king Anderson Silva facing off against Kelvin Gastelum.