Jessica Andrade dominated Rosi Sexton at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester, England, and she was surprised the British veteran was able to survive the first couple rounds on Saturday.
“I feel I showed what I can do in this fight,” Andrade told MMAFighting.com. “Every time I go in there, you’ll see a better Jessica. I still have a lot to learn. I was really relaxed and focused coming to this fight. We always get a little anxious before the fight starts, but I was more relaxed now than in my UFC debut. If you watch my UFC debut, you will realize that I looked more relaxed and confident now. I knew what I had to do so it was easier to get in there and win.”
Andrade landed 206 significant strikes against Sexton, and UFC president Dana White felt the fight should have been stopped before going to the judges. The Brazilian thought the referee came close to ending it, but props to Sexton for surviving.
“I was surprised she didn’t go down,” she said. “I knew she was tough because I saw all of her fights and saw she couldn’t handle the punishment. I thought that the referee would stop the fight or should go down some moments during the fight, but she survived — and that’s good because the fight was more exciting for the fans.”
White compared Andrade vs. Sexton to UFC 166’s main event, and Andrade took that as a compliment.
“Some people compared this fight to Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos, some people said that I’m a prettier version of Cris Cyborg,” she said with a laugh. “Cris is fighter that I look up to, my style if very similar to hers. I like to go there, walk straight forward and beat someone, so it was great to hear people comparing me to Cyborg.”
After her first win inside the Octagon, Andrade wants to get back there as soon as possible. Jessica Eye, who defeated Sarah Kaufmann a week before at UFC 166, could be the perfect opponent.
“I’ll fight anyone they put in front of me,” she said. “If they want me against Jessica Eye, that’s great. I will watch her fights and train hard to do another exciting fight for the fans. I’m just waiting for my next fight.”