André Lima is back on the schedule this weekend, ending a 15-month absence when he faces Kevin Borjas in Las Vegas. For a 27-year-old who has not fought since last March, the bout is less about momentum than getting moving again.
Lima says he wants three fights this year, including this one, and he is treating the comeback as a chance to reset the pace of his career. He said he wants to be ready to step up on short notice and make up for lost time, a promise that carries extra weight for an unbeaten flyweight who has been out of action far longer than he expected.
The reason the layoff stands out is simple math. Since making his pro debut in MMA in October 2022 and signing with UFC in October 2023, Lima has had only six fights in that stretch, and his longest break before this one was six months between his Contender Series fight and his UFC debut. Even as he kept winning, the rhythm of his career never quite matched his own description of himself as a fighter who has always been active.
That mismatch showed up in the numbers. Lima registered five stoppages in six regional-circuit fights, but his first three UFC assignments all went the distance after his Contender Series win. In his debut, Igor Severino was disqualified for biting him, which meant Lima still left with a result but not with the kind of finish he had built on before reaching the UFC. He said that weighed on him for a while, because he was known on the regional scene as a finisher and felt he had to be careful just to keep winning once he arrived.
That changed in his last fight, when he submitted Daniel Barez in the third round. Lima said he was more relaxed that night and committed to chasing the finish instead of forcing the issue, and that approach finally gave him the stoppage that had been missing from his UFC run. Now he is trying to build on it against Borjas, who has dropped four of five since joining the roster and is stepping in after DongHun Choi withdrew.
Lima is 4-0 in the UFC and 11-0 overall, but he is speaking like a fighter who knows the next phase has to look different from the last one. He said he wants to show the UFC that he is an active fighter and believes he has the level to reach the top-15 and, one day, his dream of being UFC champion. The unanswered piece is why he spent so long on the sidelines since last March, and the only thing he can control now is whether this return turns into the busier year he says he wants.
