Jessica Andrade Targeting Title Shot Against Rose Namajunas With a Win at UFC 228

Jessica Andrade is ready for her second shot at winning a UFC title.

Just days away from her fight at UFC 228 where the Brazilian will face Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Andrade doesn’t see how a win wouldn’t finally secure her an opportunity to face champion Rose Namajunas in her next bout.

Andrade previously lost to former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk but then picked up dominant back-to-back wins over Claudia Gadelha and Tecia Torres to put herself right back in title contention.

Many believed Andrade would just get the next shot at Namajunas but instead the UFC matched her up against Kowalkiewicz this weekend.

That’s why she’s so certain that a win will secure her the shot at the champion in her next fight.

“I believe I deserve it,” Andrade said on Thursday during the UFC 228 media day. “If I get this win, that’s three wins in a row, all top five opponents. There really isn’t anybody that has a better claim for a title shot than me with this win. Karolina has a win over the champ so a win with me should put me in the position to get the title shot.

“I don’t think there’s much argument for anybody else asides from both of us with a win to go ahead and fight for the title.”

Kowalkiewicz does hold a win over Namajunas from a fight in 2016 and she’s also riding high off two victories in a row as well.

It’s tough to imagine any other scenario where the winner of this matchup wouldn’t be the next person in line to face Namajunas either later this year or in early 2019.

Namajunas last fought in April when she defeated Jedrzejczyk for the second time to defend her strawweight championship.