UFC Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko will attempt to defend her belt for the fifth time when she fights former strawweight champ Jessica Andrade at UFC’s April 24th pay-per-view card. Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported the matchup on Wednesday.
The title fight joins UFC 261, an event that does not have a confirmed location currently.
The matchup will be Andrade’s second since making the move up to flyweight. Andrade made her flyweight debut in October, stopping former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian within a round with strikes.
Andrade’s move up to the 125-pound division came after a long campaign as a strawweight. Andrade was crowned the 115-pound UFC champ in 2019, defeating Rose Namajunas in the second round with a slam.
Andrade had troubles late in her run within the division, dropping her belt to Zhang Weili within a minute and losing a split decision to Namajunas in a rematch.
Shevchenko’s current run as a champion has been record-breaking and dominant, to say the least. Her last title defence was in November, where he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Jennifer Maia.
UFC 261 now has a championship bout in its lineup. Here are the bouts that have been reported for it so far.
Bout 3: Valentina Shevchenko (20-3) vs. Jessica Andrade (21-8) (UFC Flyweight Championship)
Bout 2: Chris Weidman (15-5) vs. Uriah Hall (16-9) (Middleweight)
Bout 1: Anthony Smith (34-16) vs. Jimmy Crute (12-1) (Light Heavyweight)
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