Jessica Andrade comes from the tail end of a different era in women’s MMA. Back when she broke into the sport, the UFC would not schedule women’s fights. Heck, most took fights in whatever division they could, often fighting the bulk of their careers a division or two up in weight than would be ideal.
So as odd as it may look that Andrade spent more than half of her career competing at 135 pounds before dropping all the way to 115 and rising to become the champion, that’s all she could do when the 125-pound women’s weight class wasn’t available in the UFC at the time of her division switch.
That’s different today, of course, as Andrade (21-8, 15 finishes) readies for her first flyweight championship challenge against Valentina Shevchenko in one of three title fights on Saturday for UFC 261 at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. (ESPN+, 10 p.m.). A welterweight title rematch between champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal headlines the pay-per-view event, which will be held in front of a full arena of fans for the first time since last March.
“When I entered the UFC, there was only the bantamweight division,” Brazil’s Andrade told The Post over the phone through an interpreter last Thursday. “I had some good fights there, and then I decided to go to the strawweight division, where I became a champion.”
Women competing in the UFC was a novel concept when Andrade first found her way into the octagon. So new, in fact, that her promotional debut was against Liz Carmouche, who only five months before their July 2013 bout was on the losing end of the UFC’s first-ever women’s fight against champion Ronda Rousey.
Andrade lost that day, but she held her own over a two-year run at 135 pounds before making the 20-pound drop to strawweight — the gap-bridging flyweight division did not arrive in the UFC until two years later, in late 2017.
By 2019, she stood over the 115-pound kingdom as champion, dethroning Rose Namajunas with a vicious slam knockout. Andrade’s reign ended quickly, just three months later against Zhang Weili. Incidentally, Zhang will put her title on the line for the second time Saturday against Namajunas.
After dropping a split decision in a rematch with Namajunas, the sturdy, 5-foot-1 Andrade resolved to test the waters of the weight class that was not available in the UFC when she first hopped to a new division in 2015. Her opportunity to become the UFC’s second woman to claim championships in two divisions comes six months after an emphatic debut at 125 pounds on Oct. 18, securing a first-round TKO of durable Katlyn Chookagian — herself only eight months removed from an unsuccessful challenge of Shevchenko (20-3, 13 finishes).
“I feel really well at the flyweight division,” Andrade said. “I like to change things up and feel comfortable to show my best performance. I think that’s probably why I haven’t stopped changing divisions.”
Andrade, 29, has no plans to settle into 125 exclusively for the remainder of her career, although she would be active in the division if she claims the title from Shevchenko, 33, on Saturday. Weight cutting is easier without the need to shave down an extra 10 pounds, she says, but she would relish the opportunity to once again face Zhang or Namajunas and reclaim the strawweight crown.
That’s not the only championship that comes to mind either for the ambitious Andrade, who already holds the women’s record for most fights (18) in the UFC.
“And maybe in the future, who knows, I can have the chance to fight Amanda [Nunes] in a bantamweight fight,” Andrade said of the current 135-and-145-pound champion, regarded by many as the GOAT of women’s MMA. “I always dream of it.”
But first comes Shevchenko, a dominant champion who twice lost close decisions at 135 pounds to Nunes. Since returning to her more natural weight of 125 pounds, the Kyrgyzstan native is 6-0 with three finishes and four successful title defenses. Her latest came in November, when she won a clear decision over Jennifer Maia.
But Andrade feels that Maia — her countrywoman and former opponent — “exposed Valentina’s weakness, which is her ground game, especially when she is underneath the opponent.”
After taking in the 25 minutes of additional film, Andrade expects that takedown defense and grappling training were emphasized for the champ ahead of this weekend’s fight.
“I think Valentina won’t be able to knock me out, the same way she wasn’t able to knock Jennifer out,” Andrade said of Shevchenko, who lost the second round to Maia on all three judges’ cards. “The strategy is to not give her space; the more space you give to her, the more she can impose her game.”
A win over Shevchenko would not be Andrade’s first UFC championship, but she would consider it her most meaningful considering Shevchenko’s divisional dominance relative to the 115-pound division’s recent history of the title changing hands more frequently.
“Because of Valentina’s career in MMA and the way she beats her opponents, beating her will be even more important than when I won the strawweight belt,” Andrade says. “Flyweight has always had a great champion: Valentina.”