MORRISTOWN, NJ — For her final Octagon appearance in February, Jessica Andrade put up an uphill battle with Erin Blanchfield with a week’s notice, losing to a rear naked choke submission in the second round. While losing wasn’t ideal, the former UFC strawweight champion admits she didn’t exactly go into the headlining flyweight fight with the right attitude.
Or apparently the right outfit.
All of which made things worse while Blanchfield lay on his back looking for the end.
“First of all, I never underestimated her or anything. I knew it was going to be a tough fight, a tough opponent. But I wasn’t training for this fight,” Andrade said Wednesday during UFC 288 media day. “I was kind of relaxed. I was just “very happy to be here,” walked in, happy to be in the fight, happy to be gaining weight and actually showing up for it. But even I think she mentioned that the Jessica (she) faces is not the Jessica (she) knows in this fight. I think I was actually pretty good with her. My takedown defense was pretty good.
“And then I was worried about my top because it kind of ran in there and exposed me. At that point, I wasn’t focused enough on the fight and I kind of let this one thing stabilize me. And what happened? I fell to the ground Even in the dressing room, the coach said, ‘What’s the one thing you can’t allow? Don’t give your back.’ And now, that’s the learning experience I had. First of all, don’t give Erin Blanchfield your back. And also focus. Always focus on the fight. Don’t let a small thing distract the focus from the big thing, because that’s exactly what happened right there. You’ve seen it.”
A wardrobe malfunction. That brought out the best in Andrade and helped break her three-fight win streak.
Now Andrade (24-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) returns for her third fight of the year on Saturday as she defeats Yan Xiaonan (16-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in a 115-pound bout on the pay -per- View the main map at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. And when she does, she will have a new look.
The story goes on
Andrade said that given what happened in the Blanchfield fight, she would swap the sports bra for a dry-fit shirt.
“Yes, mainly because of the weight now. It’s even lower,” said Andrade. “I had these extra small and asked for them to be made really tight. I don’t want it to happen. I don’t want anything to work. I don’t want anything revealed. No worries. I’ll even look a little fat. You will see some fat coming out (some places), it will be so tight.
Visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288 for more information on the card.
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