What’s Next For Jessica Andrade?

UFC Vegas 69 went down last Saturday night (Feb. 18, 2023) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Lina Lansberg, who suffered her fourth straight defeat at the hands of Mayra Bueno Silva, which ultimately promoted her to retire from the fight game.

And Ovince Saint Preux, who was knocked out by Philipe Lins in just 49 seconds of the first round. But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Jessica Andrade.

Coming off a big win over Lauren Murphy at UFC 283, Andrade was riding high on a three-fight win streak before agreeing to step in on short notice against Erin Blanchfield, who was orignally set to face No. 1 ranked contender, Talia Santos. For “Bate Estaca,” taking the fight against Blanchfield was high-risk because “Cold Blooded” was on a seven-fight win streak prior to the fight.

As far as the chances of reward, Andrade was calling for a shot at the title with a win, which may have been hard to come by since Blanchfield is currently ranked No. 10. Nevertheless, since Andrade is as game as they come, taking the fight once again showed just what kind of warrior she is.

Unfortunately for the former Strawweight champion, it didn’t pan out for her after she was choked out by Blanchfield in the second round (see it here). The loss is detrimental to the Brazilian bomber’s title hopes since she will now have to start from scratch.

And while she does get props for taking the fight on short notice, a loss is a loss and this setback won’t do her any favors in the championship race, at the end of the day. As for what’s next for Andrade, shoe does have options.

That’s because she has the unique distinction to be ranked in the Top 10 in both the Flyweight and Strawweight division, where she was once champion. Andrade has been jumping up and down in weight classes, which has allowed her to remain relevant in both divisions. And while I have lobbied for her to stick to one division, in this case it may benefit here.

That’s because if she does drop back down to 115 pounds she can win a couple of fights and be right back in the thick of the championship picture. She can always rematch Rose Namajunas or take on a fresh face in Carla Esparza, two former champions coming off losses.

She can always remain at 125 pounds but she will be giving up size on most nights. There are some fresh matchups for here there, too, but the path of least resistance in the championship race may come at 115 pounds.

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For complete UFC Vegas 69 results and coverage click here.