Jessica Andrade moves to Flyweight; Set to face Katlyn Chookagian at UFC Fight Night on October 17
Jessica Andrade, the one-time UFC Women's Strawweight Champion, is going from the frying pan into the oven.
"Bate Estaca", who lost to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, eventually went on to beat Rose Namajunas for that strap after slamming her to the mat at UFC 237. She then preceded to lose the strap to Weili Zhang, and then lost a split decision to "Thug Rose" in their rematch.
Originally she had planned on facing Jessica Eye in the near future, but health reasons caused that plan to be cancelled. Now, Jessica Andrade has decided the time is right to make a move up. That move is to the land dominated by Valentina Shevchenko.
And welcoming her to the Flyweight division is the No.1 Contender, Kaitlyn Chookagian. The fight right now is scheduled to be the co-main event on October 17th, below Brian Ortega and "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung.
The one question that is always asked when a fighter makes the move up is, will their power and abilities transfer. In Jessica Andrade's case it should. The Brazilian is entering her prime, and doesn't take a step backwards. She throws a flurry of punches during her bouts and is an underrated black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Gilliard Parana.
Chookagian is well schooled on the ground coming from Renzo Gracie and his team, but this might be too much for the New Jersey native. Although after being finished by Valentina, she took a decision win over her sister, Antonina Schevchenko. And the fact Chookagian has gone to the scorecards 13 times in 17 career fights doesn't help her.
The moment Jessica Andrade steps into the octagon on Fight Night she will also be stepping into the UFC record books. She will be the first female to fight in the Strawweight, Flyweight, and Bantamweight divisions. It's highly doubtful she could do 145, but as they say "where there's a will, there's a way". And Jessica Andrade hasn't confirmed she is done with 115 either.
If she does take out the No.1 Contender, one of two things can await Jessica Andrade. A shot at the title, where her pressure may bother "Bullet" the way Amanda Nunes' did. Or the other option would be to face a fellow former Strawweight in Cynthia Calvillo.