Last month, in the co-main event of the UFC’s return to Japan, top flyweight contenders Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Andrade were locked into the cage together. Despite being a noteworthy underdog heading into this fight, Andrade ultimately came out on top, capturing a decision win in an absolutely thrilling upset.
Speaking on a media conference call ahead of her UFC 217 fight with Rose Namajunas, UFC strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk shared her belief as to why Jessica Andrade was able to beat Claudia Gadelha. In her opinion, Gadelha simply took the fight lightly.
“I have so much respect for this girl [Gadelha] because she was one of the most dominant fighters in the strawweight division,” Jedrzejczyk said (h/t MMAFighting.com). “But the thing is, I beat Jessica Andrade, and everyone saw that, In May, in Dallas, at UFC 211. And Claudia Gadelha didn’t prepare for the fight with Jessica Andrade. She took that [fight] easy, and big congrats to Jessica Andrade that she looked so good. But Claudia Gadelha made her look so good because she didn’t prepare for this fight.”
“Jessica Andrade didn’t bring anything new to this fight [at UFC Japan],” Jedrzejczyk continued. “Claudia Gadelha didn’t have a plan. I train with the best coaches in the world. I train with the best team and the best gym in the world at American Top Team, and we know how to fight. We know how to train and we know how to fight, and that’s why I make all of them look like I made Jessica (look) in our fight.”
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While nothing is certain, Jessica Andrade could well be the next woman in line for the Jedrzejczyk vs. Namajunas winner. How do you think a rematch between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade would go? Make your pick in the comments section!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/26/2017.