Jessica Andrade, who is popularly referred to as “Bate-Escata” in the mixed martial arts world, a Portuguese word for a piledriver, is an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter. She is known for her massive strength and aggressive brawling style, which has so far earned her the number 2 spot on the UFC Strawweight division ranking.
Jessica Andrade Biography
Jessica Andrade was born in the tiny city of Umuarama, located in the southern Brazilian state of Parana, on the 25th of September 1991. As a child, Andrade was noted for having so much energy to play around, which ultimately made her pick an interest in sports.
Like every other young Brazilian child, male or female, Andrade dreamed of becoming a soccer star. She played both the traditional type of the game and the indoor version, better known as futsal, and excelled in both. She also played and performed excellently in table tennis, notably winning the state championship in the sport. Andrade’s dream of making it big in soccer ended up not coming to pass due to the high competitiveness in the sport but most specifically because her mother held her back from moving to Sao Paulo to play.
By the time she was 19, Andrade took a normal job and was going about her normal life until she stumbled across a free judo class. Andrade said she had never done anything like that before but was able to beat up all the boys in the class which not only impressed the teacher but earned her more training from him. She began taking jiu-jitsu classes and was entering tournaments where she piled on accolades after accolades.
In 2011, Jessica Andrade made the transition to mixed martial arts and was able to amass eight wins from her first ten fights. In 2013, she left Brazil for the first time to first compete at the ProFC 47: Russia vs. Europe in Rostov-on-Don, Russia before signing onto the UFC in July that year, and the rest became history.
Is Jessica Andrade a Lesbian?
Jessica Andrade is a very proud lesbian. The Umuarama, Paraná, Brazil native, who began her career in martial arts on the 6th of September 2011, has been very open about her sexual orientation from the time she came unto the scene. Her first fight in the UFC, which was against Liz Carmouche, was, in fact, the first matchup between two openly gay fighters in the organization’s history.
Andrade has made sure to point out that her sexual orientation does not define who she is as there are other aspects to her person. She also notes that she understands that people would not agree with her lifestyle choices but is appreciative of the fact that she can work with the UFC as an openly gay person.
On the issue of her not being able to be brutal enough to her opponents because she is a lesbian, Andrade said whenever she steps into the octagon, she goes for the kill. She then used the opportunity to talk about her male counterparts, who she said would have a harder time if any of them ever came out as gay because it is more stereotyped for males than for females.
Does She have a Wife or Girlfriend?
It is not clear if Jessica Andrade has been able to exchange vows yet, however, she does have a girlfriend who she has in fact asked for her hand in marriage. Andrade has been dating her girlfriend identified as Fernanda Gomes since August 2011. Not much is known about Gomes but she is usually in the arena cheering her girlfriend whenever she has a match.
The duo made the headlines in May 2017 just after Andrade fought and lost to Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 211. Despite not winning the title match, Andrade, when given the chance to speak about her loss, took the opportunity to praise her partner before going on to ask for her hand in marriage. Gomes, who was in the crowd as always that night, immediately accepted.
Height and Weight
From the time Jessica Andrade joined the UFC ranks in 2011 to about 2015, she fought in the Bantamweight class which has an upper weight limit of 61.2 kg or 135 pounds. By October that year, she opted to join the Strawweight class where the upper weight limit is set at 52.2 kg or 115 pounds. This means that Andrade had to lose some weight to qualify for her new weight class. She currently maintains a weight of 52 kg or 115 pounds and has a height of 5 feet 2 inches or 157 cm.
