Bate-Estaca says he made himself available to face Shevchenko for the belt at UFC 228

J. Bate-Estaca wants to fight for the title in 2018. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC

The Brazilian Jessica Stacker should be the next challenger for the Ultimate strawweight belt (up to 52,1 kg.) against the champion Rose namajunas, but the woman from Paraná was close to another title fight at UFC 228, held this Saturday (08), in Dallas. The Paraná native revealed that she offered to replace the flyweight champion (up to 56,7 kg.) Nicco Montaño, in the title fight against Valentina Shevchenko. The North American left the show due to problems with her weight cut and Jéssica was willing to move up a category to compete for the interim title against the Kyrgyzstani. However, the Texas Athletic Commission, the entity that sanctioned the show, barred the dispute.

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“Unfortunately, things happen at events. I even proposed to fight for the belt (flyweight tells Valentina), but as I had already weighed in, had already done all the work, the athletic commission didn't let me fight. But I'm very happy to be able to help the UFC put on a show and excite people”, revealed Bate-Estaca, in an interview after UFC 228.

Without authorization to move up in weight, Jéssica was promoted to the second most important fight on the show and, in a great performance, defeated the Polish  Karolina Kowalkiewicz in just 1m58s of fight. The speed with which the fight came to an end surprised the public and also the fighter from Paraná.

“I came in believing I would get a knockout, but I didn't think it would be so quick in the first round. I knew my strength and what I could do in there, I knew all of Karolina's techniques and everything worked out”, said Jessica.

After the victory, Jéssica asked the franchise president, Dana White, to face the champion Rose namajunas at UFC 232, which takes place on December 29, in Las Vegas.

“Rose (Namajunas) is a very versatile athlete and has evolved a lot since the fight with Karolina. I believe I have a great chance of winning and being champion. After that knockout I showed everyone that I can be a great striker and jiujiteira. I’m going to give a lot of work to the girls in the category”, concluded Bate-Estaca.