Jessica Andrade will challenge Rose Namajunas for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Title at UFC 237.
Even though most oddsmakers list Andrade as the favorite in the fight, one thing the fighter believes is that she is actually the underdog.
“I have to fight for real, that I have to give it my best, because there’s no such thing as a favorite,” Andrade told MMA Junkie Radio. “Each fight is a fight. At one point, she can land a hand and I might fall, like what happened with Joanna, and it can change everything. So I go in there thinking I’m not the favorite, and that I have to give it my best in there.”
Most betting lines have Andrade listed as a -160 favorite, while Namajunas is sitting as a +130 underdog.
One reason that Andrade views Namajunas as the favorite is because Namajunas holds a win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk and she doesn’t.
“Everyone’s saying I’m the favorite, that I have more chances at beating Namajunas because of our styles,” Andrade said. “Because I have more strength, because I’m able to to get the fight to the fence, to grapple, to get it to the ground and to work the ground and pound. But I’m going in as the underdog. For me, she beat Joanna and I didn’t. So I go in as the person who’s still looking for the win.”
UFC 237 takes place on Saturday, May 11 from the Arena Da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
