Jessica Andrade Says She Learned From Her UFC 211 Loss

Jessica Andrade discussed her UFC 211 loss and more for a new interview with MMAjunkie ahead of her fight with Claudia Gadelha at UFC Fight Night 117. The highlights are below:

On her loss at UFC 211: “This fight made me a lot more confident. It made me believe more in myself and in my capability. And it gave me more will power to become the champion. Everything is a learning experience. I learned a lot from this fight. I learned to believe more in myself and in my hands. (I learned to believe) that it’s very hard for anyone to knock me out – so I don’t have to be afraid of moving forward because I’m not going to fall. It was a very important fight for me. It motivated me to train harder, to prepare myself further, and to believe more in myself and my team.”

On Gadelha: “(Gadelha) is very technical, but sometimes people who are to technical get lost with those who aren’t. I’m not that technical, but I am a good striker. I can find the strikes and I’m very aggressive. I’m always moving forward. I think that will be a big problem for her.”

On Gadelha’s likely plan for her: “Claudia has been training a lot of boxing, muay Thai; she’s believing more in her striking and getting more confident. So I think it will be an interesting fight between the two of us. Most likely, she’ll enter it looking to strike, and I want to strike, too. I have a very hard chin. I can really take damage. When I fought Joanna, everyone could see that. I’m going to look for the striking at all times and move forward.”

On her plan for the fight: “Whatever she has to offer, I’m very well-prepared…What I’m looking for is the knockout. I believe it’s very likely that I’ll knock her out. I’m going to move forward at all times. I’m going to strike, I’m going to find the distance, and I’ll manage to win this fight.”

On another possible fight with Jedrzejczyk: “If we were to fight again, I’d fight more like I did the first round: moving forward, going after the fight, going in with her in the striking exchanges. I think it would be very different. Now I know I have the gas tank for five rounds at a high pace, and that there is no problem with me taking a punch or a kick. It won’t drop me. It might happen soon, it might take a little longer, but I know I will be prepared when it happens.”