Jessica Andrade thinks she’ll give Weili Zhang many different looks at UFC Shenzhen.
This Saturday (Aug. 31), Andrade will defend her UFC strawweight title in enemy territory against Zhang. It’s quite a change of scenery for Andrade, who captured the 115-pound gold against Rose Namajunas in her home country of Brazil. This will be Andrade’s first title defense.
Jessica Andrade Anticipates Versatile Title Defense
Andrade spoke to Combate ahead of her title clash with Zhang. She said that fight fans are in for some high-level mixed martial arts action this weekend (via Bloody Elbow).
“Most girls are used to seeing me walk forward all the time and do crazy stuff. This time, I’m more focused, concentrated. I’ve been learning a lot about muay thai clinching. You’ll see a Jessica with a new arsenal of takedowns, I’m improving on this more and more. But also elbows, kicks, which were things I didn’t throw. Everybody will see me do that, it’s going to be different. She will think I’m the same, but I changed everything. Striking, grappling, I’m ready for everything. She has some hip tosses, which I’ve been drilling, trying different takedowns. It’ll be a very versatile fight. Whoever is watching won’t even be able to blink.”
Andrade is on a four-fight winning streak and has earned back-to-back knockout finishes. As for Zhang, she hasn’t suffered a loss since her pro debut back in Nov. 2013. She has won 19 bouts in a row, earning nine knockouts and seven submissions along the way.
MMA News will be providing live coverage of UFC Shenzhen. We’ll also be bringing you weigh-in results ahead of fight night. Stick with us for live results, highlights, and post-fight tidbits.
