At UFC Shenzhen, women’s flyweight champion Jessica Andrade will defend her title against challenger Weili Zhang. However, it was only a few months ago, that Andrade captured the title by slamming then-champion Rose Namajunas. The KO was an all-time fight highlight.
In the interest of keeping ourselves honest, let’s look back to the not-to-distant past, and relive our predictions about the fight.
Who we picked
Patrick Shaheen-Jessica Andrade
Sean Covington-Rose Namajunas
Frank Hyden-Rose Namajunas
Michael Hiscoe-Rose Namajunas
Needless to say we were almost unanimously wrong on this one. To his credit, Patrick Shaheen did predict the correct fighter, and his prediction was rather perceptive: “Andrade has to make it ugly, which she does in every one of her fights.”
What the odds said
Rose Namajunas (8-3) vs. Jessica Andrade (19-6) – Strawweight 115 lbs.
Current Odds: Andrade -135; Namajunas +115
Pick: Andrade by (T)KO. Rose needs to keep distance in order to win this fight. I don’t think she’ll be able to over five rounds.
Mike’s specialty is interpreting the odds, and he was dead on in this fight.
Watch the Andrade KO Namajunas right here:
What we said in the aftermath
GOOD- Jessica Andrade stops Rose Namajunas
Namajunas took it to Andrade in the first round, landing a takedown and some big shots, even dropping her at one point. The second round started largely the same, with Namajunas landing several good shots. However, Andrade picked Namajunas up and slammed her to the mat, which knocked her out. Holy crap, that looked bad. Andrade is the new UFC Strawweight Champion.
That was a crazy finish there, hard to watch if you’ve had neck problems as it just looked so bad. Luckily, Namajunas is okay. Hard to tell what happens after this, Namajunas had sounded like she might retire after this loss, but decisions like that aren’t made in the heat of the moment. She might sound very different in a few weeks. As for Andrade, this is a huge win for her and she showed her dangerous power. She can end a fight in an instant so you have to be ready for anything. Another good show and another good weekend for MMA.
Who we thought Andrade should face next
Jessica Andrade is the new UFC Strawweight Champion of the world, and we are now left with a cluster at the top of the division, and an interesting MMA math equation. Jessica Andrade beat Rose Namajunas, who beat Joanna Jędrzejczyk, who beat Jessica Andrade… so who gets the next shot? Well, possibly neither of the two contenders listed above. With nearly every division seemingly in a constant state of chaos, we very rarely have clear cut number one contender bouts. Title shots are rarely given on merit these days, so it is a bit refreshing knowing that the next contender at strawweight just might be someone that has worked for it, much like the current champion did. Nina Ansaroff and Tatiana Suarez are scheduled to compete next month, at UFC 238. The winner should be next in line for the Strawweight Championship title bout.
Fight to make next: Jessica Andrade vs. Winner of Tatiana Suarez/Nina Ansaroff (UFC 238)
Cole Henry made the mistake of using common sense when he made this prediction…
More from MMATorch
Leave a Reply