Jessica Andrade calls for trilogy fight with Rose Namajunas, rematch with Weili Zhang
UFC women’s flyweight contender Jessica Andrade called for a trilogy fight with Rose Namajunas or a rematch with Weili Zhang.
Andrade knocked out Cynthia Calvillo in the first round of their fight at UFC 266. For Andrade, this was her third fight at 125lbs and her second win by knockout, with a previous TKO victory over top-ranked contender Katlyn Chookagian. However, that one loss that Andrade has in the weight class came against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko earlier this year. Knowing that a rematch with Shevchenko is going to be hard to attain, it appears as though Andrade is now interested in returning down to 115lbs, where she was the UFC women’s strawweight champion two years ago.
While Andrade stopped short of fully committing to a move back down to her old weight class, she did mention that it makes sense because Namajunas and Zhang are fighting later this year in a rematch for the belt, and Andrade wants to fight the winner of it. Andrade holds a previous KO win over Namajunas from 2019 that won her the belt, though she lost a split decision in the rematch a year later. As for Andrade and Zhang, the Brazilian lost her belt to Zhang in her first title defense, and now she wants revenge.
“The moment is perfect because I can maybe have a trilogy with Rose or maybe a rematch with Weili,” Andrade said (h/t MMAjunkie.com). “I know I’m good at 115. I know I’m good at 125 and even 135, also. So it all depends on the timing. Sometimes weight divisions don’t have the timing you need. I want to be the champion. I think now is the time to fight against either and bring this belt back to Brazil.”
As for a prediction for Namajunas vs. Zhang 2, Andrade is picking “Thug” to win the fight.
“I think Rose is going to win,” Andrade said. “It’s not going to be as easy as the first one, but Rose has way more experience in the UFC, and she knows how to handle the pressure of being a UFC champion. I think that’s going to make the difference, and I think Rose is going to win by decision.”
Who do you want to see Jessica Andrade fight next?
