5 UFC fighters who were fast-tracked to title fights
As the top MMA promotion in the world, the UFC is widely regarded as the peak of mixed martial arts. Once upon a time, when MMA was more of a niche sport, UFC president Dana White prided himself on its legitimacy, compared to pro-wrestling juggernauts like WWE, which prioritize showmanship and entertainment value.
The UFC and its fighters were only interested in showcasing the world's greatest mixed martial artists. However, as the promotion became more profitable, generating record-breaking money at the dawn of the Conor McGregor era, the promotion underwent a shift, narrowing its focus on the entertainment aspect of combat sports.
Trash talk and rivalries have become more important than ever before, as evidenced by the promotion's decision to fast-track Alex Pereira to a title fight due to his longtime rivalry with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Now, fighters are using both in an effort to generate fan interest in them and their upcoming bouts in the hope that Dana White will shorten their path to a title shot. This list looks at 5 fighters who were fast-tracked to title fights, for one reason or another.
#5. Jessica Andrade
At first glance, it might not seem like it, but Jessica Andrade is one of the most well-treated fighters on the roster.
At the time of this writing, she was given three opportunities to capture a title, one less than Holly Holm, who is often joked about by MMA fans for supposedly always being a win or two away from fighting for championship gold.
Of Andrade's three title shots, two came at strawweight. The first was a losing effort against Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Her second title fight was successful as she bested Rose Namajunas via brutal KO, driving her head into the ground with a high-crotch single-leg slam.
The Bullet is back!
Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight title against Jessica Andrade at UFC 261 on April 24, Dana White told @bokamotoESPN. https://t.co/UvULhMEkXj
Andrade lost the championship in her first title defense against Zhang Weili. After losing to Namajunas in a curious rematch wherein she was more consistently successful yet lost where their first fight saw her have no consistent success until her sudden knockout slam, the Brazilian made the move to the flyweight division.
There, she defeated Kaitlyn Chookagian in her flyweight debut, ending her two-fight losing streak to go 1-2 in her last three fights. However, with only one win since suffering two back-to-back losses, Andrade challenged Valentina Shevchenko for the flyweight title, losing the fight via 2nd round TKO.