Jessica Andrade has a big goal she wants to achieve this year.
First, she will have to get past her next opponent and that will not be an easy challenge. Andrade is slated to take on Tecia Torres in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 27.
The winner of this fight will likely get the next crack at current UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, who won the title back at UFC 217 last November when she beat then-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Andrade wants to become champion this year and shed some light on why she thinks that 2018 is her year to get it done during a recent interview with MMA Junkie.
“Many people are saying that the winner of our fight would have the next title shot,” Andrade said. “I’ll be coming off two wins and Tecia, with a win, would be coming off four straight, and it would be fair for her to fight for the belt. But, since there’s Karolina (Kowalkiewicz) as well, who’s doing good in the division, the UFC might want to match my winner against the winner of that fight.”
“I’m at this stage in which I’m feeling really good, you know?” Andrade said. “I’m well trained. My body is good. I feel like I’m at my peak with everything, with my body and my career. I wouldn’t have a problem with having another fight before the belt. I think the more fights you do, the more prepared you are for a title fight.
“I like being an underdog,” Andrade said. “I like going out there and fighting the best. It’s a way of showing that I am evolving. I’m not the type of person who gets to the top and just wants to keep winning. I know at some point I may lose. I’m ready to win or lose. I like having the biggest challenges possible. Because if I lose, I know it was to someone at the top, like me.”
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