Written by Jessica Andrade won the UFC belt with a slam KO over Rose Namajunas | Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
Jessica Andrade wants to get a win back for Brazil when she faces Jasmine Jasudavicius on May 10, and she’s aware of the challenges the Canadian prospect brings to the table at UFC 315.
Jasudavicius enters the cage riding a four-fight winning streak with three of those victories coming against Brazilians, tapping out Ariane Silva and Priscila Cachoeira before a decision over Mayra Bueno Silva. Andrade, a jiu-jitsu black belt with eight of her 26 MMA wins coming by way of submission, feels “prepared and relaxed” for such a task.
“I don’t have to cut too much weight to compete in this weight class, so I’m happier than ever,” Andrade told MMA Fighting. “And I’m ready for Jasmine’s game. I know she’s evolving on the feet, but her strongest weapon is the ground game. And you have to be a truck to take me down [laughs], so I think it’s going to be a very interesting fight.”
“I’m ranked higher than [Jasudavicius] at 125, but she’s still a dangerous fight, a dangerous opponent, who’s coming off wins against three Brazilians,” she continued. “Everybody’s telling me like, ‘You have to stop her, she’s too cocky for beating Brazilians.’ I got this. I’ll do a good job and bring the win home. And then I’ll get to ask for a title shot at 115. Everything changes when you have a win on your record, especially after a win in a heavier weight class.”
Andrade won her past two strawweight bouts in the UFC by knocking out Mackenzie Dern and earning the split decision nod over Marina Rodriguez, but moved up to lose a decision to flyweight prospect Natalia Silva shortly after that. The former UFC strawweight champion is staying at 125 pounds for UFC 315 but plans on going back down in the future.
“My goal was to fight at 115, but there are no girls to fight there,” Andrade said. “Virna [Jandiroba] is someone I wouldn’t like to fight anytime soon. I like her a lot, we’re friends, and we’ve agreed that we’ll only fight if it’s for a belt. And there was nobody else to fight at 115. Amanda Ribas’ dad told me they wouldn’t fight me, so I have no options. The only option was to move up to 125 again and take this fight; otherwise, I would have no option but to stay sidelined for a long time. Right now, I’ll continue fighting at both, but my plan is to stay at 115.
“I met Amanda’s dad in the UFC, and he told me the UFC offered them a fight with me, and they said no, only if it’s for the belt or something like a title eliminator. Other than that, he said they wouldn’t fight me. I like them as well. It’s getting hard [to get fights] at 115, the division isn’t moving, and I’ve fought almost all the girls already. I think there are only three or four there that I haven’t fought before.”
Andrade’s No. 1 choice would be an opportunity to face a top-ranked strawweight after UFC 315, and returning to the win class off a victory over a hyped flyweight talent in enemy territory could do wonders for her championship aspirations. The ideal scenario for “Bate-Estaca” would be going 4-0 in 2025 with a championship victory in December.
“I even thought they would give me Alexa [Grasso] now, but she has a fight booked [vs. Natalia Silva at UFC 315], so I’ll just wait,” Andrade said. “It depends on what happens in my fight now. I hope I don’t let it go the distance, end this before the third round, and can call someone out. I wanna win this fight and ask for a title shot — or someone close to it.”