Jessica Andrade won’t try to talk her all way up to the top.
Riding a three-fight winning streak inside the Octagon, and ranked among the best bantamweights in the world, Andrade won’t take a few pages of fellow Brazilian 135-pounder Beth Correia’s book and call out UFC champion Ronda Rousey yet.
“I don’t like to talk trash,” Andrade told MMAFighting.com. “I’m a cool girl. I can wait for my time.
“I don’t like to talk too much. I think we have to get through every step to get there,” she continued. “I think Bethe rushed things too much, but everyone knows what it’s best for you. If she thinks she’s ready and has what it takes to bring the title to Brazil, who am I to say she isn’t?”
Andrade looks for her fourth victory in a row as she takes on Marion Reneau at UFC Fight Night 61 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on Feb. 22, and is confident that she will be the one to dethrone Rousey.
“I never said I’m ready to fight Ronda and bring this belt to Brazil because I know I have a lot to learn,” she said. “I started training and fighting MMA four years ago. I know one day I will get there and that I will be ready to beat Ronda.”
Coming off a quick finish over previously unbeaten Larissa Pacheco in September, “Bate Estaca” changed a few things in her training camp for UFN 61. The bantamweight brawler moved from Curitiba to Rio das Ostras for an all-female training camp.
“I was training in Curitiba, but I went to Rio das Ostras for this camp. We did our first all-female training camp there,” Andrade said. “We were in a house with a lot of female athletes, and I’m ready for my fight in Porto Alegre. We had some boys in the camp, some coaches too, but it’s basically an all-female camp.”
Andrade also had a few men in the gym to help, but says training and sparring with women made it look more like a real fight.
“I train with girls as strong as the ones I’m going to fight, so that’s good,” she said. “I still train with boys, so I can perform better when I’m fighting girls, but we also had girls that are great in jiu-jitsu, muay thai, kickboxing and judo. My training camp was great and I feel I have evolved a lot.”
Reneau impressed in her UFC debut by dominating Alexis Dufresne en route to a unanimous decision victory at UFC 182, and Andrade expects the California-native to go for takedowns in Porto Alegre.
“She did well, she’s a good fighter. She fought a heavier girl and showed her technique,” Andrade said. “It’s going to be a great fight and the fans will be excited. Her ground game is dangerous, but I’m not worried about it. I’m in shape and well trained, so no way I’m going to lose this fight.
“I think she will try to take this fight to the ground. If she watched some of my fights, I think she will try to take me to the ground, especially after she trades punches with me. However, I have a great ground game, my guillotine is pretty good. I will do my best to keep this fight standing and knock her out in the first round, though.”