Jessica Andrade declares herself Invicta FC champ, ready to unify belts against Jedrzejczyk

HOUSTON – According to UFC President Dana White, Jessica Andrade is set as the next challenger to champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s strawweight belt.

As made clear by her octagon speech following the exciting clash with Invicta FC champ Angela Hill ( 6-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC), and by a number of interviews prior to it, Andrade (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is not opposed to the idea. But after Saturday’s decision win, she doesn’t see the scrap with Jedrzejczyk (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) as just the average title affair.

“I think by beating Angela today, I became Invicta champ,” Andrade said. “So I want to unify my belts. I want the opportunity to fight Joanna. Joanna, do you want a fight? I’m here. April, May, June – it doesn’t matter the date. I’m ready. I’ll fight you no matter what happens.”

Andrade’s latest win opened Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 104 main card at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

By the time Andrade talked to media members backstage, White hadn’t yet confirmed her title shot, and her scrap hadn’t officially been declared a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus winner.

But she was already very happy with the outcome of what she said was a conscious decision to keep the fight standing up in preparation for a possible scrap against notoriously gifted striker Jedrzejczyk.

“It was an incredible fight,” Andrade said. “I didn’t imagine that Angela would be able to take so many shots, and I was able to give it my best. I could have taken the fight to the ground. I could have submitted (her), but I wanted to strike. It was an incredible fight. I can only be thankful.”

Andrade’s opinion was not only supported, but somewhat magnified by White later.

“In the women’s divisions, that’s one of the greatest fights you’ll ever see,” the UFC boss said. “I mean, that fight was incredible. Both girls were getting hit with bombs. What a great fight.”

After dropping down from bantamweight, Andrade stopped her two previous 115-pound opponents – Jessica Penne and Joanne Calderwood – before the final bell. She was also able to prove against a very game Hill that she’s able to keep up the pace throughout three rounds against smaller opponents.

A title fight will, of course, add two five-minute frames to the equation. But, at least judging by how she felt on Saturday, the No. 9 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings doesn’t seem to have a problem with the idea.

“Thankfully, my training was great,” Andrade said. “I was coming off a previous camp because I was supposed to have fought (at UFC 207) in December in Las Vegas (Andrade lost two opponents, including Hill, and ended up being pulled from the card).

“That fight didn’t happen, so I continued with the same training, every day at 7 a.m., running on the streets then lifting weights and doing strength and conditioning. I was very prepared for this fight. If it had been five rounds, I’d have kept the pace for five rounds, until the end.”

To hear more from Andrade, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage UFC Fight Night 104, check out the UFC Events section of the site.