Adversity only seems to embolden
Jessica
Andrade.
The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight titleholder
will attempt to rebound from back-to-back defeats to
Erin
Blanchfield and
Xiaonan Yan
when she meets
Tatiana
Suarez in the
UFC on ESPN 50 co-main event this Saturday at Bridgestone Arena
in Nashville, Tennessee. Despite her current drought, Andrade
remains confident in her abilities.
“I’m always feeling positive,” she told Sherdog.com. “Losses are
part of our careers. Of course, I don’t feel comfortable coming off
two losses and I do understand the importance of this next bout,
but whenever I’ve found myself in this situation, I always come
back with great wins over very tough opponents. I’m well-prepared
and peaceful going into this next fight. I know what I have to
do.”
The unbeaten Suarez owns a 9-0 record that includes six wins in the
UFC. She won Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in
2016 and looked like a surefire future contender. However, injuries
have limited her to just five appearances in six-plus years since.
Suarez last competed at UFC Fight Night 220, where she returned
from a 1,358-day layoff and submitted
Montana
De La Rosa with a guillotine choke in the second round of their
Feb. 25 encounter.
“Tatiana is a very tough opponent,” Andrade said. “Her record shows
clearly who she is and her fighting style, but I’m feeling right at
home. I’ve worked on takedowns and takedown defense my entire life.
She may be a wrestler, but I’ve faced many wrestlers already. I
feel I’m very ready. Even though she’s ranked at No. 10, she’s
undefeated, so a good win can propel me closer to the belt. Plus, I
love challenges.”
No woman in UFC history has drawn more assignments with the
promotion than Andrade, who has taken 24 fights inside the Octagon.
Though she has competed as a strawweight, flyweight and
bantamweight since she joined the company in in 2013, the
31-year-old Brazilian would prefer not to bounce around
anymore.
“My focus now is to stay at 115 pounds,” Andrade said. “That’s my
weight class. It’s where I want to be champion again. Of course, we
don’t know what tomorrow will bring. If a good opportunity comes at
125 pounds, I will be available, no doubt, but my focus currently
is to stay at 115 and to get another win so I can stay high in the
rankings. That way, I can have a shot at the belt by next year. For
that to happen, I have to do well in a single weight class. I’m
working hard to be the No. 1 contender or the champion next year.”