Jessica Andrade: Claudia Gadelha exposed champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk's weak chin in title fight

BRASILIA, Brazil – UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk already has a title fight scheduled, but that doesn’t seem to shake off the target on her back.

Although only two fights into her 115-pound UFC stint, former bantamweight Jessica Andrade (15-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is already eyeing a fight with the current champion. And, in spite of Jedrzejczyk’s (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) perfect record, Andrade believes that the champ’s lauded striking game might just be her downfall.

“Her fight with Claudia (Gadelha) opened up a lot of gaps in her game for us,” Andrade told MMAjunkie after a fan Q&A prior to UFC Fight Night 95’s official weigh-ins this past Friday in Brasilia, Brazil. “Joanna has a weak chin. She was knocked down with a jab. Who gets knocked down with a jab? Joanna. So I think it’s a good area for us to work at.

“And we see the girls don’t like to strike with Joanna. They take the first punch and then get lost and don’t know what to do anymore. So I think striking would be a good thing to work with Joanna, always looking to hit her chin to see her fall.”

Andrade’s confidence that she can take down the undefeated titleholder, she says, gained even more traction after comments made by Jedrzejczyk herself through their then-mutual manager.

“I did some ground training with Joanna,” Andrade said “I trained with her and she made a comment that I was stronger than Claudia. This just makes me more confident for this fight. I know I can either use the ground or strike with her.”

Before she can entertain thoughts of fighting Jedrzejczyk, however, the champ has an encounter with challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz, at November 12’s UFC 205. Andrade, on her end, has just come off a bonus-winning submission win over Joanne Calderwood at this month’s UFC 203.

Currently ranked No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings, Andrade has already made an impression at the new division with two dominant finishes. That’s why, in spite of her own preference for staying active and racking up more fights, she believes the UFC might be saving her for a title shot.

Though the belt may very well change hands before she gets to it, Andrade seems to be pretty sure of who the title shot will be against.

“We really want to fight (on Sao Paulo’s Nov. 19 card), but the UFC doesn’t want it,” Andrade said. “Since I’m the next one to fight for the belt, they don’t want to waste that bullet. If I lose the fight, that opportunity to fight for the belt will be delayed.

“I think they want to hold me for a little bit, so that Joanna fights and I can fight her right after that.”

Still, Andrade would rather stay active than sit around and wait for her stab at the 115-pound belt. Now, she says, the idea is to start pushing for Tecia Torres. But that’s just because she thinks her first target, No. 5 ranked Carla Esparza, is not going to take the fight.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. According to her, after placating Esparza’s initial concerns about Andrade making weight, the Brazilian strawweight has repeatedly gotten her callouts rebuffed. And now, she believes, the matchup seems even more unlikely.

“She doesn’t want it,” Andrade said. “She said she won’t, we’re insisting, and she doesn’t want it.

“She thinks it’s a very dangerous fight. Her trainer was at the last UFC I fought at, we were at the same corner. He saw me training and I think it scared them even more and now no way she wants to fight.”

Andrade has been very vocal about her satisfaction with the new weight class. Having had a much easier drop than she originally expected, the fighter now praises how much stronger she feels in spite of the 20-pound difference on her frame.

That, Andrade believes, had a lot to do with a new approach to a previously questionable diet.

“For my first fight in the UFC, no one knows that, but I’d never eaten McDonald’s before,” Andrade said. “I tried it in Seattle and then I spent the entire week eating McDonalds. I was never focused on my diet, and on food, because I didn’t need to lose too much. It was the worst diet in history.

“And now I have to eat right. And that’s why I feel stronger. I feel stronger at 115 than I did at 135.”

That’s not to say that Andrade doesn’t allow herself some indulgences.

“I like sweets,” Andrade said. “After my last fight, we went to Walmart, I looked at all those things – I swear to God, I bought an extra suitcase just to brnbg back the candy. I bought ten-pound bags of M&Ms, Nutella. But then I eat little by little. Now I have chocolate for the entire year.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.