Loopy Godinez knew she would one day cross paths with Jessica Andrade, and that day has come.
In arguably the biggest fight of her career, Godinez (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) takes on Andrade (26-14 MMA, 17-12 UFC), a former UFC strawweight champion, on the preliminary card of UFC 319 – which goes down this Saturday in Chicago. Being one of the biggest names at 115 pounds, Godinez has had her eyes on the Brazilian for quite some time. In fact, her first callout of Andrade came two years ago.
“When I fought Tabatha Ricci in New York, I was asked who I’d like, and the person who came to mind was Jessica Andrade,” Godinez told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. “But due to circumstances, I didn’t get the fight, and I got other opponents. But yeah, we’ve had her on sight, and it was something that was inevitable. I was going to fight her sooner or later.”
Godinez has shown powerful wrestling in her UFC run, but also improved boxing, having trained at Lobo Gym in Guadalajara under Francisco Grasso, Alexa Grasso’s uncle and trainer. When asked about her approach for Andrade, Godinez kept her strategy vague, but did give a hint.
“We have the game plan already, and what we have planned is fighting the easiest fight,” Godinez said.
Godinez is coming off a decision win over Julia Polastri back in March in Mexico City. The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak that vastly changed her career for good.
“Those things happened, but the truth is that I did learn a lot from those losses against Mackenzie (Dern) and (Virna) Jandiroba – I learned a ton,” Godinez said. “I would love to fight them again one day, so they can fight the best version of me. That’s it. I learned a lot. I wouldn’t change those defeats because of how much I learned. I’ve made the adjustments – nutrition, training, preparation, everything. I felt very good in my last fight, and ahead of this one I’m feeling even better. I’m excited to see those changes in the cage this Saturday.”
