Former UFC women’s strawweight champ Jessica Andrade will be dipping her toe back in the 125lb division pool once again.
Andrade (23-9) will face former UFC women’s flyweight title challenger Lauren Murphy (16-5) at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this January. News of the match-up was first reported by MMA Fighting.
Murphy subsequently confirmed the booking on her Instagram Story.
After coming up short against champ Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 266 last year, Murphy returned to the win column this past July, earning a unanimous decision against former UFC women’s bantamweight champ Miesha Tate. The 39-year old is 6-1 across her last seven fights, and while securing a second title shot may be difficult, champ Shevchenko has all but cleaned out the division.
Andrade has won back-to-back contests, and returned to 115lbs in her last outing, where she defeated Amanda Lemos. That April bout kicked off what many expected to be a fresh run at strawweight, but with many of the division’s top names already occupied, it’s back to flyweight for “Bate Estaca.”
Prior to submitting Lemos, Andrade earned a TKO finish of Cynthia Calvillo at 125lbs.
UFC 283 takes place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio, Brazil on January 21, 2023. The following match-ups have been reported for the event:
Deiveson Figueiredo (c) vs. Brandon Moreno (ic) – for the UFC flyweight championship / title unification bout
Mounir Lazzez vs. Gabriel Bonfim
Josiane Nunes vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos
Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares
Maurício Rua vs. Ihor Potieria
Paul Craig vs. Johnny Walker
Jéssica Andrade vs. Lauren Murphy
