Jéssica Andrade Hoping For Another Decade In The UFC

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Jéssica Andrade is quickly closing in on ten years as a member of the UFC roster, but the Brazilian intends for that to only be the halfway mark of her time in the promotion.
The 31-year-old is coming off one of the most dominant performances of her career when she battered Lauren Murphy for three rounds at UFC 283 in Brazil. That bout caused a bit of controversy around whether or not Murphy’s corner should have thrown in the towel, but that does nothing to take away from how impressive Andrade looked during the fight.
The Brazilian could easily have taken a bit of time off after scoring a big win in her home country, but “Bate Estaca” is already set to return to the cage when she meets Erin Blanchfield in the main event of UFC Fight Night 219.
“Cold Blooded” was originally scheduled to face former flyweight title challenger Taila Santos in a fight that was already a replacement for the card’s original main event, but Andrade was more than happy to step in on short notice after Santos was forced to withdraw due to visa issues.
“There’s So Much More To Be Done”
July will mark ten years since Andrade joined the UFC, and at the UFC Fight Night 219 media day the Brazilian was asked how it’s possible that she still seems to be getting better after being in the promotion for so long.
Andrade captured the UFC’s strawweight title in 2019. (Zuffa LLC)
“I know this evolution, it’s just I feel that now I can do so many of the things that I’ve always wanted and that my masters always told me to do all along,” Andrade responded through an interpreter. “Always, I mean ever since the beginning. So, I mean if you think about this, I see myself as you know, just a glass that’s half full still. There’s so much more to be done. There’s been an evolution – like think about this. When I started, I was just a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and I didn’t have any sort of Muay Thai on me. And now you think about all the stuff that you do, you start doing more, you start evolving. I think that there’s so much more, and after these first ten years, we have another ten years so you can see a Jessica that just brings even more to the table and continues to show the evolution, the UFC all throughout.”
Andrade captured the UFC’s strawweight title in 2019 before losing the belt in her first title defense against current Strawweight Champion Weili Zhang. A move to the women’s flyweight division saw the Brazilian challenge Valentina Shevchenko in 2021, but a second-round loss in that fight has done nothing to slow the 31-year-old down.
“Bate Estaca” has now won three-straight fights since her failed bid for the title against Shevchenko, and Andrade is currently ranked in both the strawweight and women’s flyweight divisions. The former champion won’t have an easy time extending her current run against Blanchfield, as the 23-year-old is currently on a seven-fight winning streak that includes a perfect 4-0 start to her UFC career.
What do you think of Andrade’s plan to continue fighting in the UFC for another decade?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.

Jéssica Andrade is quickly closing in on ten years as a member of the UFC roster, but the Brazilian intends for that to only be the halfway mark of her time in the promotion.


The 31-year-old is coming off one of the most dominant performances of her career when she battered Lauren Murphy for three rounds at UFC 283 in Brazil. That bout caused a bit of controversy around whether or not Murphy’s corner should have thrown in the towel, but that does nothing to take away from how impressive Andrade looked during the fight.


The Brazilian could easily have taken a bit of time off after scoring a big win in her home country, but “Bate Estaca” is already set to return to the cage when she meets Erin Blanchfield in the main event of UFC Fight Night 219.


“Cold Blooded” was originally scheduled to face former flyweight title challenger Taila Santos in a fight that was already a replacement for the card’s original main event, but Andrade was more than happy to step in on short notice after Santos was forced to withdraw due to visa issues.


“There’s So Much More To Be Done”
July will mark ten years since Andrade joined the UFC, and at the UFC Fight Night 219 media day the Brazilian was asked how it’s possible that she still seems to be getting better after being in the promotion for so long.


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Andrade captured the UFC’s strawweight title in 2019. (Zuffa LLC)
“I know this evolution, it’s just I feel that now I can do so many of the things that I’ve always wanted and that my masters always told me to do all along,” Andrade responded through an interpreter. “Always, I mean ever since the beginning. So, I mean if you think about this, I see myself as you know, just a glass that’s half full still. There’s so much more to be done. There’s been an evolution – like think about this. When I started, I was just a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and I didn’t have any sort of Muay Thai on me. And now you think about all the stuff that you do, you start doing more, you start evolving. I think that there’s so much more, and after these first ten years, we have another ten years so you can see a Jessica that just brings even more to the table and continues to show the evolution, the UFC all throughout.”


Andrade captured the UFC’s strawweight title in 2019 before losing the belt in her first title defense against current Strawweight Champion Weili Zhang. A move to the women’s flyweight division saw the Brazilian challenge Valentina Shevchenko in 2021, but a second-round loss in that fight has done nothing to slow the 31-year-old down.


“Bate Estaca” has now won three-straight fights since her failed bid for the title against Shevchenko, and Andrade is currently ranked in both the strawweight and women’s flyweight divisions. The former champion won’t have an easy time extending her current run against Blanchfield, as the 23-year-old is currently on a seven-fight winning streak that includes a perfect 4-0 start to her UFC career.


What do you think of Andrade’s plan to continue fighting in the UFC for another decade?


Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.




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