Jessica Andrade breaks down KO win over Rose Namajunas

On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 237, Jessica Andrade claimed the UFC strawweight title in truly jaw-dropping fashion, turning the lights off on the champ Rose Namajunas with a massive slam and a slew of followup punches.

Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Andrade offered a quick breakdown of the fight-ending sequence. Apparently, she was initially worried that Namajunas had been badly hurt.

“I saw her lying there, that she was out, and I still landed two punches before the referee stepped in,” Andrade said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “But I hadn’t realized how serious it was. I got worried because we train to go in there and fight and everyone comes out okay. She woke up later and I relaxed, ‘Okay, I can celebrate for real now because she’s fine. Everything went fine, I didn’t kill her [laughs].’ I didn’t imagine that would happen.

“I believe the pile driver worked because she kept holding my arm and I think she was going for a submission, but since I took her too high and moved her over my head and threw her, there was no way, she fell on her face and went out immediately.”

Jessica Andrade also sized up the current crop of strawweight contenders, and deemed wrestling specialist Tatiana Suarez the most dangerous of the bunch.

“I believe the most dangerous of them all is Tatiana,” Andrade said. “She has a great ground game. Even though I have a great jiu-jitsu, she’s an incredible grappler and I have to be careful with that. On the feet, I realized that it will be hard for anyone to knock me out, I have a solid chin and everything will be alright.

“We get damaged and cut, but it works in the end.”

What do you think is next for Jessica Andrade after UFC 237?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/12/2019.