Jessica Andrade is, without a doubt, the most experienced woman in the UFC currently. With over 20 Octagon fights to her name, she has experienced it all – from the high of winning a title to the low of being finished quickly. She has received multiple bonuses and set multiple records and milestones that even the most accomplished of her peers will struggle to match, let alone surpass.

In two months, that storied career will reach another historic moment. At UFC 319 in Chicago, “Bate Estaca” (Piledriver in Portuguese) draws Lupita “Loopy” Godinez in what will be her 30th fight inside the Octagon. Only Angela Hill has come close to that mark, and her date with Iasmin Lucindo a week earlier will still be two fights shy of the mark.

There remains one question, however: what statement will Andrade hope to deliver?

Longing For Gold

Jessica Andrade’s strawweight reign is among the most widely forgotten ones in UFC history, simply because of its brevity. Having won the title from Rose Namajunas in May 2019, she lost in her very first defense to Weili Zhang almost four months later. That fight manifested largely out of circumstance – the promotion badly needed a draw for its Shenzhen event, and only the then-burgeoning Chinese contender fit the bill.

It was not even close – Andrade was knocked out in under 45 seconds. To compound her situation further, she lost a rematch against Namajunas in her next fight. It was clear that she was stuck in limbo at 115, so she had to make a change.

Enter Katlyn Chookagian. Just over three months later, Andrade mauled the tall and rangy recent challenger with body punches to secure an unlikely flyweight title shot against Valentina Shevchenko. Suddenly, women’s flyweight, which was perceived at the time as a dreary world of sacrificial lambs, had a dynamic and exciting contender.

Those hopes were brutally snuffed out six months later, however. At UFC 261, “Bullet”, as if to make a statement, dominated Andrade and finished the fight with elbows from the crucifix within two rounds.

Since then, Andrade has gone 5-5. She followed up the Shevchenko loss with three straight wins, then three straight losses. She is currently on a two-fight skid – both at 125.

It has been quite a while since Andrade was involved in a title fight, but certain events may work out in her favor.

A Fortuitous Opportunity?

Much has been said about the possibility of a Shevchenko-Zhang super fight happening, even though both women have clear-cut top contenders in their respective divisions. Should that happen, however, Andrade may find herself in a title fight sooner rather than later.

There has been speculation that Zhang is growing tired of her weight cut, and the superfight is a convenient way for her to officially and permanently change divisions. Given how the top 5 strawweights have fared as of late, Andrade may have a decent case for a title shot.

Discounting her flyweight losses, Andrade is currently on a two-win streak at 115. One of said wins is against Mackenzie Dern, the fighter immediately below her. She also has a win over Amanda Lemos, while she has yet to fight Virna Jandiroba. Finally, the two people in the top 5 who have beaten her, Xiaonan Yan and Tatiana Suarez, lost their last fights.

In a time when the women’s divisions are in flux, Andrade can become an unlikely title challenger once more in her career. Can she do it, though?

End Of My Jessica Andrade Rant

On the other side of the cage will be Lupita Godinez. The LFA veteran has established herself as a scrappy presence in the middle of the rankings, but she wants to be more than that – she wants to be a contender.

That notion nearly came true as 2024 began. Godinez had won all her four fights the previous year when she drew Jandiroba in Atlantic City. She lost that fight, then again to Dern, and found herself needing to rebound and stay afloat, which she did against Julia Polastri this March.

Beating a former champion like Andrade will do wonders for Godinez’s career. A loss to Godinez will severely tarnish Andrade’s title prospects in what should be a landmark moment. Their fight is crucial for a strawweight division that stares a new reality in its face.