PhotoCred: MMA Junkie
Jessica Andrade plans strawweight return after UFC 283, wants rematch against Weili Zhang
Top-ranked women’s fighter Jessica Andrade says she plans on a strawweight return after UFC 283, and she wants a rematch against the champion Weili Zhang.
Andrade takes on Lauren Murphy this Saturday at UFC 283 in a women’s flyweight contest. At the moment, Andrade is the No. 6 ranked women’s flyweight fighter. However, she is also ranked at No. 4 in the UFC women’s strawweight division, and if it’s up to her, the Brazilian wants to move back down in weight.
Speaking to AG Fight in a recent interview, Andrade confirmed that she plans on moving back down to 115lbs with a win over Murphy and she will call for a rematch against Zhang, who defeated her back in 2019.
“My intention with the victory over Murphy is to go back to strawweight, which is my division, and have the chance to dispute the belt with Zhang. I think Zhang won’t accept a fight anytime soon. There will probably be time to ask for a rematch. But I also believe that, at flyweights, I’m also very close to disputing the belt with Valentina. It just depends on the UFC. My will is to go back to the strawweights and ask for the belt, which is what I’m going to do in the octagon. The fight is over, I’m going to say to Dana, ‘Dana, who else am I going to have to beat to have the opportunity to fight for the belt again? Give me that chance again. He puts me on a rematch with Zhang and I want to fight at home’. Because I went to China to fight her, but now she has to come fight me in Brazil. Who knows, huh? With one more fight in Brazil, we’ll take the belt home,” Andrade said.
Zhang currently does not have a fight booked, so if Andrade beats Murphy in impressive fashion, it will be interesting to see if the UFC ends up giving her the rematch she craves against the world champion.
Do you want to see a rematch between Weili Zhang and Jessica Andrade?
