RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Jessica Andrade meets Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a potential No. 1 contender fight Saturday night at UFC 228, and already has her eyes on the champion.
The Brazilian strawweight was campaigning for a shot at 115-pound queen Rose Namajunas after back-to-back wins over Claudia Gadelha and Tecia Torres, but Namajunas has taken some time off after her second win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk earlier this year.
Days away from stepping inside the Octagon to face Kowalkiewicz, Andrade says she will ask for a shot at the belt in her post-fight interview in Dallas, and has a specific date in mind: Dec. 29 in Las Vegas, a pay-per-view card headlined by fellow Brazilians Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes.
“If Namajunas doesn’t get better before the end of the year and doesn’t want to fight, I’ll ask for an interim belt even if that means fighting Joanna again,” Andrade said in a recent media day in Brazil, “so the winner would get the interim (title) and then fight Namajunas.”
“Bate Estaca” guarantees she’s focused on her upcoming fight at UFC 228, but competing on the same night as the UFC’s first female champion vs. champion clash would be an honor.
“I’ll ask for this opportunity to fight (at UFC 232),” Andrade said. “It’s a super important card, the last card of the year, with two icons, two Brazilian champions fighting each other, and that’s great. I would be an honor for me to fight that night.”
If victorious at UFC 228 and given a shot at the belt next, Andrade would be entering the Octagon for the 15th time — the most among any women in the UFC — in her second attempt to become champion, and could also help grow women’s mixed martial arts in Brazil.
“It’s the final event of the year, so it always gets a lot of media and attention,” Andrade said. “Having two fighters at a higher level competing and becoming the strawweight champion, we would have three Brazilians with belts on the same day.”
“I imagine that Amanda will do well with Cris Cyborg, but won’t win the belt,” she continued. “I think the belt will continue with Cris Cyborg. Amanda keeps the bantamweight belt and, who knows, I win the strawweight belt. It would be amazing. Three belts to cap off the year for Brazil. That’s priceless. That would put my name up there and bring more eyeballs to the sport in Brazil.”
