Jessica Andrade stopped eating pasta, cookies to make once ‘impossible’ cut to strawweight

A day before scoring her third straight UFC victory in September 2014, tapping Larissa Pacheco in the first round at UFC Fight Night 51, Jessica Andrade told MMA Fighting it would be “impossible” for her to cut down to 115 pounds despite her height and reach disadvantage as a bantamweight. Less than two years later, she’s ready to make her strawweight debut.

After improving to 3-1 in the UFC with the win over Pacheco, Andrade lost two of three bouts, with a win over Sarah Moras sandwiched by submission losses to Marion Reneau and Raquel Pennington. With a 5-3 record inside the Octagon, Andrade decided to cut to 115 pounds.

“It’s true, I said I would never go down to 115 because I thought I wouldn’t be able to make the weight, but thank God we started working on that,” said Andrade, who makes her strawweight debut against Jessica Penne at Saturday’s UFC 199. “When I saw it was possible and I would fight well… I realized that I would have more opportunities at 115, would be better ranked and put on better fights, I spoke with my coach and we decided to do it.”

Andrade hasn’t changed anything in her training camp — she still trains with lightweights on a daily basis — but can’t say the same about her diet. Used to competing at 135 pounds, the Parana Vale Tudo fighter had to change a few things in order to cut extra 20 pounds.

“I started eating healthier, more salad, sweet potato and chicken, and I’m feeling stronger than I was before,” Andrade said. …

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