'Bate-Estaca' coach wants athlete back in December and suggests fight against Nina Ansaroff

J. Andrade (left) and his coach, G. Paraná (right). Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @gilliardparana

Jéssica 'Bate-Estaca' from Paraná had a difficult time last Saturday (31), when she was defeated by Weili Zhang and lost his UFC strawweight belt (under 51,2kg) at UFC Shenzhen. The motto for the Brazilian, however, is to 'lift your head' and move forward. At least that's what the fighter's trainer, Gilliard Paraná, thinks, who already wants his pupil to fight again in December. The statement was made in a recent interview with 'MMA Fighting'. The coach suggested a fight against Nina ansaroff.

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“Nina (Ansaroff) would be a good option if she wants to fight in December. I do not know if Nina ansaroff will continue fighting, but I think she's the only one in the top 10 who doesn't have a fight scheduled. So, this is the idea”, said Paraná.

Regarding not knowing whether the American will continue fighting, Gilliard refers to the fact that the athlete has already expressed her desire to become a mother. The athlete's plan was to keep winning until she reached the title fight. However, in his last engagement, his fiancée Amanda nunes ended up defeated by Tatiana Suarez placeholder image, ruling out any possibility of her becoming a potential challenger at the moment.

Even with the defeat, Andrade's team showed a lot of sportsmanship in dealing with the fighter's setback. In all their statements, both the technical committee and the fighter herself showed that they had their feet on the ground and were confident of a comeback in the future.

“Jessica will come back. This is a sport. We have to understand this. Jessica is still one of the best in the division, if not the best, when she's focused. Having the belt is complicated. You lose focus. You have that pressure and you have to prove yourself all the time”, concluded Paraná.

The defeat to the Chinese player put an end to a streak of four consecutive victories in the Paraná native's record. The last time the 28-year-old fighter felt the taste of defeat was in 2017, when she was defeated in the title fight by the Polish woman Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

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