UFC Shenzhen: 'Everyone will see a different Jessica Andrade'

Audience are expected to see a different Jessica Andrade, as she faces her Chinese challenger Zhang Weili on UFC Fight Night 157 in Shenzhen, China this Saturday.

In a brief interview with Astro AWANI recently, the UFC strawweight champion admitted that her opponent is tough, however she said she's well prepared for the fight.

“She is well rounded, aggressive, strong, moves forward all the time, so she is the type of opponent that you need to be paying attention all the time.

“I believe this will be one of those fights where no one will be able to blink,” she said.

Andrade said she is looking for a quick finish in this match, possibly in the first or second round.

“I want this fight to end fast. I want a knockout or a submission on the first or second round.

“But it will all depend on how the fight starts, what she will do, what will be her strategy, but I definitely want this fight to end before the 5th round,” said the 27-year-old Brazilian.

Commenting on her preparations, Andrade said underwent two weeks of very intense training in Rio de Janeiro with a new Muay Thai coach.

“We brought in a new Muay Thai coach, stayed working for two very intense weeks on my Muay Thay, reminding things I wasn’t using a lot in my past fights, like my elbows, clinch, gave me more confidence to kick, so it was really good.

“Then we came to China, I brought my whole team, we stayed at the Performance Institute in Shanghai. My camp was excellent and everyone will see a different Jessica,” she said.

Andrade also admitted that she will call out Kyrgyzstani sensation and current UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko if she wins this fight.

However, it is unclear if she wants the match to be in the flyweight division or a strawweight bout.

“I hope she accepts it and by the end of the year or in the beginning of next year we fight - hopefully in a great card so we can profit of PPV (pay-per-view) buys. This is a fight to test my skills,” she said.

“My message to her is that I expect her to come well prepared, give it all she has, which is what I’m going to do.

“I hope we put on a show, show everyone our strength and that we can headline any card around the world and that women rule!”

Andrade captured the strawweight belt after defeating Rose Namajunas via knockout in the second round on May 11 this year.

She will face Zhang in her first ever UFC strawweight world championship title defence.