Jessica Andrade: Joanna Jedrzejczyk Has To Earn Another Title Opportunity
New strawweight queen Jessica Andrade doesn’t plan on giving away free title shots to anyone, including former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Andrade powerbombed her way to the title earlier this month at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, then-champion, Rose Namajunas got the better of “Bate Estaca” in the first round.
“I knew that the first round would be like that,” Andrade said (via MMA Fighting). “I knew that I’d get beat up. That she would punch me and cut me, that there would be blood. I knew that the first round would be really tough, but it would be my moment to study her and know what to do in the second round.”
Not only did Andrade expect to lose the first round to “Thug” Rose but she said it was all apart of her head trainer, Gilliard Parana’s plan.
“My master told me in the locker room, ‘If she tries to go for an armbar or a guillotine, slam her. Don’t give her your back,’” Andrade said. “We trained that in the locker room. He told me not to worry about losing the first round, it was meant to be like that so we could see what we had to go for in the next rounds.”
Andrade On The Slam KO
As for the haters, the new strawweight queen doesn’t have time for them. And she isn’t giving anyone the time of day if they question the legitimacy of her victory.
“I’ll tell you this, it didn’t bother me,” Andrade said. “I think that those who said that don’t really understand about fighting because I didn’t do a spike, it was a slam. She went down like that because she kept holding my arm. If you watch my fights, I do that all the time. I’ve done that against Joanna (Jedrzejczyk), against Claudia Gadelha, against Tecia Torres. It was a slam. So, yeah, it doesn’t bother me.”
First Title Challenger?
While many people think Jedrzejczyk will get the next title shot, Andrade has said on numerous occasions that “The Boogey Women” will have to fight her way back to a title shot, just like anyone else.
“Everybody expects me to fight Joanna, but she has to work and try to get another opportunity to fight for the belt,” Andrade said. “When I fought her and lost, I had to get back in there and win three fights against the three high-ranked fighters to earn another chance.”
Andrade laid it out pretty simply for Jedrzejczyk. That is, if you continue to win, you will eventually get a chance to fight for the belt.
“For her to fight me, she has to do the same,” Andrade said of Jedrzejczyk. “She has to get some wins. Fight the higher-ranked girls, and then, if she wins, she’ll have the chance to fight me. I do believe that the next in line will be the winner of Nina vs. Tatiana or Michelle Waterson. I’ll wait. When the UFC calls me, I’ll be ready.”
