Brazilian standout Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade is set to make her return to the Octagon on February 22nd at UFC Fight Night 61: “Bigfoot vs Mir” in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Andrade meets hard-hitting striker Marion “The Belizean Bruiser” Reneau in a featured bantamweight bout.

Andrade has made a steady climb up the 135-pound women’s rankings with three straight victories inside the Octagon. She most recently submitted top prospect Larissa Moreira Pacheco at UFC Fight Night 51. Reneau made a successful UFC debut with a dominant decision win this past weekend.

Andrade (12-3-0) kicked off her UFC career as a significant underdog in July 2013 and put forth a solid showing before succumbing to second-round ground and pound from former UFC title challenger Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche. Since that time, the talented 23-year-old has proven many critics wrong by holding her own against formidable opposition inside the Octagon. After earning back-to-back wins over Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton and Raquel “Rocky” Pennington, Andrade overwhelmed Pacheco en route to a first-round submission win with her signature guillotine choke in September.

Reneau (5-1-0) is no stranger to playing the underdog role herself. When a December bout for Invicta FC fell through, the high school physical education teacher stepped in on short notice to face the much larger Alexis “Sneaky Zebra” Dufresne this past Saturday night at UFC 182. Many had expected that Dufresne, who badly missed weight for the second straight time in the UFC, would dominate the fight. Instead, Reneau mauled her opponent on the feet for three rounds en route to one of the most lopsided Unanimous Decision wins in recent female fight history.

UFC Fight Night 61: “Bigfoot vs Mir” takes place on February 22nd at Gigantinho Gymnasium in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The event is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and former UFC champion Frank Mir.

(Photo Credit: UFC)