This past weekend at UFC Fight Island 6, former strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade (21-8), moved up to flyweight for the first time. Andrade had competed at bantamweight and became the champion at strawweight during her UFC career.
Despite the success at strawweight, many people believed that flyweight was the best natural weight class for the former champion. She jumped right into the deep end of the pool taking on top ranked contender, Katlyn Chookagian (14-4).
Chookagian was coming off a dominant win and was just one fight removed from a UFC title shot. Many believed that the winner could be in good position to cash in on a UFC title shot. Well, Andrade made a massive statement on Saturday.
Andrade showed off her superior strength despite being the much smaller fighter. She threw Chookagian to the ground twice. Andrade then landed some vicious hooks to the body that crumbled Chookagian giving Andrade the first round TKO victory.
UFC title shot next?
Andrade was the second UFC strawweight to move up this year to take on the top contender at flyweight. Cynthia Calvillo did the same thing against Jessica Eye. That night, Calvillo also defeated the previously top ranked contender.
However, that fight was a grinding decision with a lot of wrestling. Andrade made a massive statement with the way that she was able to win on Saturday night. She completed dominated and finished the former title challenger.
Given the way that she won and her status as a former UFC champion, I think Andrade is definitely next in line to face the winner of the UFC 255 title match. In the most likely scenario that Valentina Shevchenko retains her title, I would be very excited to see the matchup between Shevchenko and Andrade.
Shevchenko would still be a sizable favorite in that potential UFC matchup. Many people believe that she might be the best female fighter in the world. I personally thought she beat Amanda Nunes the last time they fought. A Shevchenko – Andrade title fight would be very exciting for the division.