UFC 266: Jessica Andrade wants a crack at winner of Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili rematch
- Brazilian has flyweight bout against Cynthia Calvillo on Saturday but eyes drop back to former division
- ‘My goal is to win against Cynthia and then ask if I can fight whoever wins between Rose and Weili – either or,’ says Andrade
Former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade has a bout against Cynthia Calvillo up among the flyweights at UFC 266 in Las Vegas on Saturday, but admits her heart is set on a return to her old stamping ground – and another shot at the crown she once held.
“My goal is to win against Cynthia and then ask if I can fight whoever wins between Rose and Weili – either or,” said the Brazilian, pointing towards the Namajunas-Zhang strawweight title fight looming at UFC 268 on November 6.
“I know there’s [third-ranked] Carla Esparza down there and I know she’s been waiting for her shot, so maybe that would also work out for me. But after a win over Cynthia I’m definitely going to ask for either Weili or Rose.”
Andrade (21-9) claimed the strawweight title with a second-round knockout (slam) over American Namajunas (10-4) at UFC 251 in July 2020 before relinquishing it, via first-round TKO, to China’s first UFC champ in Weili (21-2) in Shenzhen just three months later.
The 29-year-old Andrade then decided to move up to flyweight after a razor-thin split decision loss to Namajunas in July last year – so there’s plenty of personal shared history between her and the two fighters set to be engaged in a strawweight title rematch in New York this coming November.