
JESSICA "BATE ESTACA" ANDRADE
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At this time of her career its fair to say Jéssica "Bate Estaca" Andrade (born September 25, 1991) has achieved something most fighters only dream of.
Ever since Jessica was born in Umuarama, Paraná, Brazil, all she did was, working.
Jessica, with her older brother, worked at parent's plantation fields throughout their childhood until the farm was municipalized, leading to the prohibition of underage labor.
At the age of 14, she started working at a fish & pay pond and later delivering medicine for a drug store.
Jessica grew up playing soccer and futsal, aspiring to become a professional soccer player. She succeeded well and eventually got offered to play for a São Paulo club, but her parents forbade her from moving to the big city.
During her last year in high school, Jessica started training judo, as a part of school project, and three months lalter, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Just about a month into trainining, her coach at the time told Jessica about the promoter of a local MMA show just lost a female fighter due to the injury therefore looking for a replacement. She didn't mind making little extra so Jessica decdied give it a try. And this is when not just only her pro MMA career did begin but also, Jessica met her current coach Gilliard Algredo Fagundes, the founder / head coach of team Paraná Vale Tudo (PRVT).
With almost no MMA experience, in her pro debut fight, Jessica completely dominated Weidy Borges from PRVT.
Coach Gilliard, who was at the opposite corner, saw something special in Jessica. PRVT was in Curitiba back then and was affiliated with team Gracie Humaita, where Jessica fought out of. So, after first pro fight Jessica started to train with coach Gilliard.
In 2012 the investors offered cocah Gilliard an opportunity to move PRVT to Niterói. Soon after he moved the team, coach Gillard met with Jessica's parents, and told them "I will guarantee food, roof over her head, training and fights." He convinced them to allow their dauther to move to the different city.
Coach Gilliard ketp his promise as Jessica fought seven times in 2013 and in the following year, she fought outside of Brazil for the first time when she submitted Milana Dudieva at ProFC 47.
This win in Russia lead Jessica to signning with the UFC.
She stepped in to replace Meisha Tate to face Liz Carmouche in UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga.
It took Jessica less than two years to get to the Octagon.
She first cometed at the bantamweight division defeated likes of Raquel Pennington, Marrion Reneau and Rosi Sexton.
Soon after UFC started strawweight division, Jessica went down to her appropriate weight class, won three in a row, and faced Joanna Jędrzejczyk for the UFC Women's Strawweight title. Jessica lost this fight in a five-round decision but came back quickly with another three wins, and, in 2019, KO'd Rose Namajunas, with a slam, to capture UFC Women's Strawweight belt.
Jessica lost this title to Zhang Weili then went up to flyweight, defeated Katlyn Chookagian and faced Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC Women's Flyweight Title.
Jessica became just the 24th fighter in history to challenge for a title in two divisions, joining standouts like Frankie Edgar, Demetrious Johnson, and Holly Holm.
Jessica is now back at the strawweight division, scheduled to face a fellow Brazilian Amanda Lemos on April.
"Bate Estaca" (piledriver) is a term used in Brazil for body slams. In one of her first amateur BJJ competitions, when Jessica was caught in an armlock, she panicked, slammed her opponent, which is the illegal move in BJJ, and to her surprise was immediately disqualified. After this bout, her teammate coined her the nickname "Bate Estaca".
MMA record: 22-9-0 / height: 5'1" (155 cm) / weight: 126 lbs (57.1 kg)