Former women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade returned to the 115-pound division in the UFC Vegas 52 main event and plans to stay in the weight class.
The 30-year old made history by submitting Amanda Lemos via standing arm-triangle choke. It was the first standing arm-triangle choke finish in UFC history.
“I had two kind of rough weight cuts in my last two fights at strawweight, and that is what prompted me to fight at flyweight,” Andrade said during the UFC Vegas 52 Post-fight Press Conference.
Andrade captured the UFC women’s strawweight title by defeated Rose Namajunas at UFC 237 in May 2019. She lost the belt in her first title defense against Zhang Weili. In her next outing, the Brazilian was defeated by Namajunas in a rematch. Following the loss, Andrade moved up to the flyweight division.
In her flyweight debut, Andrade stopped Katlyn Chookagian in the first round. In her next fight, she fought for the flyweight championship against titleholder Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko finished Andrade in the second round.
Cris Cyborg bloodies Arlene Blencowe in unanimous decision at Bellator 279
After picking up another win in the flyweight division, Andrade returned to the 115-pound weight class this past Saturday. While she has the ability to compete at the highest level in two divisions, Andrade believes strawweight is where she’ll be most successful.
“Strawweight is where I excel at. I know I can do well at flyweight. I know I can beat a bunch of girls at bantamweight, but If I want to be champion ever again, strawweight is the place to be,” Andrade said.
Jessica Andrade: ‘If I’m going to be a champion again, it’s going to be at strawweight’
