Jessica Andrade is search of a title shot.
This Saturday, at UFC Fight Night Orlando, strawweights Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres will face off to determine the next title contender. Andrade also sees this as a special opportunity to redeem her Brazilian team, Parana Vale-Tudo, after teammate Priscila Cachoeira was dominated in her recent fight by Valentina Shevchenko.
Andrade told Brazilian outlet Combate (translation by BloodyElbow), that she feels an extra drive:
“Because she (Cachoeira) lost, and because too many people are talking about how ‘it looked like she didn’t even train. She did nothing’, that motivates me.
“It motivates me to show that yes she was very well trained. I’m more focused, even more prepared to show everybody I’m a champion, that my master’s routine is a wicked one, that he’s the best coach ever.”
Andrade looked exemplary in her last performance against Claudia Gadelha. She consistently punished Claudia in all areas of the fight, dominating positionally and landing gruesome amounts of damage. For Tecia Torres, who is a notoriously weak ground fighter, Andrade wll likely be looking to impose her strong wrestling.
However, Torres poses her own set of problems. The “Tiny Tornado” has excellent footwork and crisp boxing – she will not be easy to corner in the cage. She also has shown a remarkable gas tank for a strawweight so physically powerful. She used this trait to sustain a beating on current champion Rose Namajunas several years ago in Invicta FC. Tecia will look to use her power-boxing and movement to punish Andrade for closing in. Andrade says she acknowledges Tecia’s strengths, though they hardly serve as deterrents:
“I’ll fight anybody, I don’t care who it is. We don’t give up easily. It has now become a matter of honor to step up and honor my master and my team and show the world we have the best female fighters in the world.”
Jessica Andrade will meet Tecia Torres at UFC on Fox 28, in Orlando, Florida, on February 24. For a closer look, both fighters have been featured in the UFC Countdown series.
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