Former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade is eyeing a return to 115 lbs following her flyweight main event opposing Erin Blanchfield this weekend at UFC Vegas 69.
Andrade is 3-1 at 125 lbs, only losing to champion Valentina Shevchenko, though she did just drop down to 115 lbs for one fight in April of 2022 where she submitted no. 3 ranked strawweight contender Amanda Lemos in the first round. And, she thinks with a win over a prodigy like Blanchfield that she’ll be in a great position to rematch Weili Zhang for the UFC strawweight title.
The 31 year old former champion made the following statement at UFC Vegas 69 media day:
“I’ve said this to everyone, all year long, that want to remain a strawweight. I set my goals and that’s where I want to stay. I think that coming off four straight victories, I’m actually closer to facing Weili. On that subject, I went to China to face Weili. I went in there, I went to her. We can fight in Las Vegas, that (would) be great, or anywhere in the United States, but this is second nature to her.
“She’s spent her time at the PI, she’s done camps here, so I want to take her out to Brazil because I went to China to face her. I want to move her out of her comfort zone. I went to her, so why not do it for me? But I want to stay at strawweight, I’ve said it all along. Again, four straight wins and coming off against a prospect, I think I will be considered over here for a really clear shot at Weili.”
Does Jessica Andrade get through Erin Blanchfield this weekend?
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