Jessica Andrade says she needs two years to ‘last more than 16 seconds’ against Ronda Rousey

BRASILIA, Brazil — Unlike most of the women in the UFC, Jessica Andrade is in no hurry to make her way into a title fight against UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

Riding a two-fight winning streak heading into a clash with undefeated prospect Larissa Pacheco at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brasilia, Brazil, on Saturday night, “Bate Estaca” doesn’t see herself calling out the champion anytime soon.

“I’m still pretty raw in MMA,” Andrade told MMAFighting.com. “I have so much to learn. If someone asks me to teach a jiu-jitsu seminar tomorrow, I won’t be able to teach you 10 positions [laughs]. I still have a lot to evolve. I think in two years I will be ready enough to fight her and last more than 16 seconds [laughs].”

Despite the desire of challenging a star like Rousey, Andrade isn’t sure “Rowdy” will keep her title until they finally meet.

“The way I see the evolution of women’s MMA, I think someone will beat her before that,” she said. “Women’s MMA has evolved a lot. If Ronda isn’t well-trained, someone will take her title home. I don’t know who, but someone will.”

Andrade has to get past Pacheco to keep pursuing her dream. Pacheco, a former Jungle Fight bantamweight champion who is undefeated in MMA, took the fight on short notice, but Andrade doesn’t expect an easy bout.

“My strategy hasn’t changed at all,” Andrade said of the change of opponents when Pacheco replaced Valerie Letourneau. “It’s actually better now, because I have the option to take her down if I want to. I have this option, but I want to fight her standing. She’s a strong fighter, walks forward all the time and is aggressive, so I expect a great fight.

“My game plan is to brawl. I like to fight standing, and so does she. But if I have to, I will take her down. I just want to do a great fight and win a post-fight bonus. I need this money. I will beat her a lot. She’s a good striker, so I will go forward. It’s going to be an explosive fight, and I want to scare her.”

Pacheco is as tall as Raquel Pennington, Andrade’s last opponent inside the Octagon. That’s not a big issue, says “Bate Estaca,” but would be a reason why she would choose to go down to a different weight class in the future.

“I’m used to compete at 135 pounds, and I know I will always be shorter than my opponents,” Andrade said. “In my last fight, my opponent was 10cm taller than me. Height doesn’t mean everything. I just have to follow my game plan and everything will be alright.”

However, Andrade would never move down to the strawweight division.

“UFC created a new weight division now, but 115 pounds is too much for me to cut. It would be a terrible cut for me,” she explained. “But if they decide to open a 125-pound weight class, I would move down to fight there. I want to take Ronda’s UFC title, but I would be willing to go down to 125 because of my height and strength.”

BRASILIA, Brazil — Unlike most of the women in the UFC, Jessica Andrade is in no hurry to make her way into a title fight against UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

Riding a two-fight winning streak heading into a clash with undefeated prospect Larissa Pacheco at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brasilia, Brazil, on Saturday night, “Bate Estaca” doesn’t see herself calling out the champion anytime soon.

“I’m still pretty raw in MMA,” Andrade told MMAFighting.com. “I have so much to learn. If someone asks me to teach a jiu-jitsu seminar tomorrow, I won’t be able to teach you 10 positions [laughs]. I still have a lot to evolve. I think in two years I will be ready enough to fight her and last more than 16 seconds [laughs].”

Despite the desire of challenging a star like Rousey, Andrade isn’t sure “Rowdy” will keep her title until they finally meet.

“The way I see the evolution of women’s MMA, I think someone will beat her before that,” she said. “Women’s MMA has evolved a lot. If Ronda isn’t well-trained, someone will take her title home. I don’t know who, but someone will.”

Andrade has to get past Pacheco to keep pursuing her dream. Pacheco, a former Jungle Fight bantamweight champion who is undefeated in MMA, took the fight on short notice, but Andrade doesn’t expect an easy bout.

“My strategy hasn’t changed at all,” Andrade said of the change of opponents when Pacheco replaced Valerie Letourneau. “It’s actually better now, because I have the option to take her down if I want to. I have this option, but I want to fight her standing. She’s a strong fighter, walks forward all the time and is aggressive, so I expect a great fight.

“My game plan is to brawl. I like to fight standing, and so does she. But if I have to, I will take her down. I just want to do a great fight and win a post-fight bonus. I need this money. I will beat her a lot. She’s a good striker, so I will go forward. It’s going to be an explosive fight, and I want to scare her.”

Pacheco is as tall as Raquel Pennington, Andrade’s last opponent inside the Octagon. That’s not a big issue, says “Bate Estaca,” but would be a reason why she would choose to go down to a different weight class in the future.

“I’m used to compete at 135 pounds, and I know I will always be shorter than my opponents,” Andrade said. “In my last fight, my opponent was 10cm taller than me. Height doesn’t mean everything. I just have to follow my game plan and everything will be alright.”

However, Andrade would never move down to the strawweight division.

“UFC created a new weight division now, but 115 pounds is too much for me to cut. It would be a terrible cut for me,” she explained. “But if they decide to open a 125-pound weight class, I would move down to fight there. I want to take Ronda’s UFC title, but I would be willing to go down to 125 because of my height and strength.”