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Former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade can’t wait to rematch Rose Namajunas at UFC 251.
Former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade is ready to show everyone that she did not win the world title due to a lucky shot. Although the Brazilian was being picked apart by then-champ Rose Namajunas back in May 2019, only to then turn the bout around and knock ‘Thug’ out with a vicious power slam in the second round, ‘Bate-Estaca’ does not consider the finish a fluke.
Now paired up against Namajunas again at UFC 251, Andrade tells Combate she is eager to go out there and show the world how everything she does is part of the plan. According to Jessica, taking a few strikes and getting the feeling of how the fight will play out is just her style, not something about which fans should be concerned.
“To fight Rose again will be really important, because lots of people said it was a fluke. I trained hard to do everything I do in the Octagon. It’s not because I eat a lot of shots that I’m a bad fighter. I’m not bad. It’s the way I fight. I like to take some shots, so I can get angry and hit them back. How am I going to take someone’s head off if I’m not angry at them? I have nothing but admiration for Rose, much respect. When she won the belt, I cheered for her. She gave me the chance to fight her for the belt in Brazil.”
“I think she had more time to prepare for this fight, to get better everywhere. I know she must be have been practicing her takedown defense a lot, submissions from the bottom position, too. Lots of girls tend to lose their focus from that position, but not Rose. Rose always looks for a way to finish. She’s always looking for a way to get back up from the mat, too. So I’ve been training to mix up my takedowns. We’ll see lots of different types.”
Back in August 2019, Andrade (20-7) lost the title in just 42 seconds, when she got knocked out by current champion Weili Zhang. Before that, the 28-year-old was on a four-fight winning streak with victories over Claudia Gadelha, Tecia Torres, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and the aforementioned Namajunas.
Now, Bate-Estaca is expected to take on Rose Namajunas at UFC 251, on July 11, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between the champion, Kamaru Usman, and short-notice replacement challenger Jorge Masvidal.