At 26, Jessica Andrade isn’t in a rush, but becoming UFC champion in 2018 would be pretty neat.

Andrade, of course, had her stab at the UFC’s 115-pound belt once. But after five rounds with then-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, she lost a unanimous decision. She bounced back not long after – and in style. An underdog coming into a bout with fellow former title challenger and compatriot Claudia Gadelha, Andrade came out of a bloody “Fight of the Night” with her hand raised.

Andrade meets Tecia Torres at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 28 looking to keep her momentum going against yet another top-ranked foe. A few weeks after that, at April 7’s UFC 223, former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz meets Felice Herrig in another key bout.

That same night, champ Rose Namajunas and ex-champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk will rematch for the 115-pound title.

All things considered, Andrade sees a few scenarios that might follow.

“Many people are saying that the winner of our fight would have the next title shot,” Andrade said. “I’ll be coming off two wins and Tecia, with a win, would be coming off four straight, and it would be fair for her to fight for the belt. But, since there’s Karolina (Kowalkiewicz) as well, who’s doing good in the division, the UFC might want to match my winner against the winner of that fight.”

Now focused on getting past Torres (10-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), whom she meets in the FOX-televised co-headliner at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., Andrade (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) is OK with waiting.

“I’m at this stage in which I’m feeling really good, you know?” Andrade said. “I’m well trained. My body is good. I feel like I’m at my peak with everything, with my body and my career. I wouldn’t have a problem with having another fight before the belt. I think the more fights you do, the more prepared you are for a title fight.

“I’m not in a rush. But I would love to be a champion this year. I think 2018 is my year.”

Andrade has her reasons to feel confident. Why wouldn’t she, anyway, when having so much confidence in herself – even when others didn’t seem to share it – has paid off so big in the past?

Her last outing is a perfect example. Andrade came into it off a title loss that, gritty effort aside, was ultimately quite dominant. Rather than look for a tune-up fight to get her record back on track, or even take the time to sulk on her wasted opportunity, Andrade was emboldened by the setback. So she took on the woman who many thought was the next best thing to the the-then champ.

Gadelha had recovered from her own failed title bid with two dominant wins, including one over Kowalkiewicz, and had logical reasons to be the favorite coming in. In the lead-up, Gadelha built up her technical merits over Andrade’s – an assessment that Andrade, herself, didn’t (and still doesn’t) even dispute.

A pre-fight reading that seemed a bit too optimistic at the time later proved ominous. And once again Andrade proved people wrong.

“It was funny, because it wasn’t a fight that was supposed to happen,” Andrade said. “When you come off a loss, most times a fighter wants to get a more in-the-middle opponent, so they can win. But not me. I know that considering my current position in the UFC and in the rankings, I don’t have an option to fight weaker and lower-ranked people. So, inside me, that win meant some overcoming, too.

“I knew Claudinha was a very difficult fight, but that if I gave it my best, I could win. I heard a lot of people saying it was a very tough fight. They asked why I took it. But I don’t run away from challenges. I said, ‘I’ll fight Claudinha, and I’ll win. She can be more technical than I am. She might have a longer road and more experience than I do. But my will power, my strength, my grit, and my bruteness will make a difference, and I’ll win.’”

While it wasn’t a title fight, it was surely one of the shining moments of Andrade’s MMA career. The Brazilian strawweight believes it showed just how much she’s been able to evolve.

“I like being an underdog,” Andrade said. “I like going out there and fighting the best. It’s a way of showing that I am evolving. I’m not the type of person who gets to the top and just wants to keep winning. I know at some point I may lose. I’m ready to win or lose. I like having the biggest challenges possible. Because if I lose, I know it was to someone at the top, like me.”

Andrade, who’s ranked No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA strawweight rankings, believes that’s just the type of challenge she’s got ahead of her Saturday. No. 5 Torres is actually the underdog this time, but there’s no denying her credentials. Having her sole UFC loss come by the hands of the division’s current champ, she’s most recently capped off a three-fight streak with a win over Michelle Waterson.

While Torres wasn’t her original booking – Kowalkiewicz was reportedly supposed to be it but later pointed to a cold-turned-pneumonia as a reason to withdraw – Andrade is quite happy with the new matchup and believes that Torres’ speed, strength and aggression might pair well enough with hers, that the two might end up getting themselves a post-fight bonus.

Still, true-to-form, Andrade is confident she can come out on top.

“I think Tecia will move around a lot,” Andrade said. “She’ll look to hit and leave, like Joanna did. But now I’m much better prepared for this type of fight now than I was before. I now know I can chase my opponent at all times in the octagon. And, when she comes in to touch me, I have to counter. I think I’ll have an easy time there.

“When it comes to the ground – if I’m able to get her against the fence, I can certainly take her down and work the ground-and-pound. But I’ll do my best to knock her out in the first or second round. If it doesn’t happen, though, who knows a submission or a TKO from the ground-and-pound?”

Andrade has made it clear that she’s not too concerned as to whether a title shot will follow her efforts Saturday. But if it does, it seems she already knows whom she’d like it to materialize against.

“I’m really rooting for Namajunas to win,” Andrade said. “I think she’s an excellent athlete. She has a huge heart. She’s a true champion. She doesn’t underestimate her opponents. She always goes in it with a lot of will to win and humility. To me, she’s a true champ. So I’m really rooting for her to win this fight. I wouldn’t like Joanna to win.”

For more on UFC on FOX 28, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.