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Paige Turner

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Jessica Andrade may have been pummelled by China’s Zhang Weili – but that doesn’t mean that she’s out for the count. She’s still number one in the UFC women’s strawweight rankings and in the top five in UFC women’s pound-for-pound rankings.
The following are five things you probably didn’t know about this powerful young woman.
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She comes from a humble background




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Jessica Andrade “Bate Estaca” (@jessicammapro) on Apr 2, 2020 at 1:08pm PDT



Jessica Andrade was born in Brazil, to parents who were both rural farmers. Both Jessica and her brother Fernando worked on their parents’ plantation until prohibitions on underage labour put a stop to the practice.
Even so, she remained a hard worker throughout her teen years, working at a fish-and-pay pond and later as a delivery person for a local chemist.
She once wanted to be a soccer player




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Jessica Andrade “Bate Estaca” (@jessicammapro) on Mar 7, 2020 at 7:02am PST



Given the fact that soccer is probably the most popular sport in the South American nation, it’s not surprising that Jessica Andrade once aspired to be a professional soccer player. But it was not to be.
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While she did well at the sport, and even got an offer to play for a São Paulo club, her parents wouldn’t allow her to move to take up the offer. While their decision was likely a huge disappointment for young Jessica, it may have been for the best as she began the training that has led to her current career path.
She dropped down to strawweight 




















View this post on Instagram



















Plena depois da banheira de gelo, quem vê assim nem imagina que estava tremendo de frio
A post shared by Jessica Andrade “Bate Estaca” (@jessicammapro) on Apr 9, 2020 at 9:27am PDT



Most fighters start at a low weight and then aspire to gain weight to become better fighters. However, Andrade has done the opposite, beginning her career in the bantamweight division but later deliberately losing weight to fight in the strawweight division. The move was clearly a smart one as moving down in weight has jump-started her career, enabling her to leverage her fighting capabilities to their full potential.
She’s amazingly powerful




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Jessica Andrade “Bate Estaca” (@jessicammapro) on Feb 6, 2020 at 3:39pm PST



Everyone who has covered her career can’t help but marvel at how powerful Andrade is. As one sports writer accurately noted, she has an uncanny ability to overcome technical, structured martial arts, making her a dangerous opponent to those who rely on precise skills and manoeuvres. Her vicious ground-and-pound game, coupled with her versatility and the ability to smell an opponent’s weakness and use it against them has made her a threat to competitors the world over.
She’s shorter than nearly all her competitors




















View this post on Instagram



















Esse é meu bloco de carnaval PRVTgirls
A post shared by Jessica Andrade “Bate Estaca” (@jessicammapro) on Feb 24, 2020 at 12:53pm PST



Believe it or not, Andrade is shorter than nearly all her competitors. She’s just 1.57 metres (five-foot two-inches) tall and nearly every single fighter she has come up against is taller than her.
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Andrade is not only physically powerful but also has the grit, determination and intelligence needed to make the most of her many talents. She has risen from lowly beginnings to become an international star that fans the world over can look up to.
While her loss to Zhang Weili was undoubtedly a huge disappointment for the Brazilian star, it’s not likely to be the end of her career, and fans can look forward to Jessica Andrade’s upcoming fights to see if she’ll make a comeback.


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The former UFC women’s strawweight champion came from humble beginnings in São Paulo, Brazil, to make a name for herself, her way – despite her slight height


The Brazilian former strawweight champion came from humble beginnings to make a larger-than-life name for herself – despite her slight height


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UFC fighter Jessica Andrade – 5 things you probably don't know about the MMA challenger defeated by Bruce Lee fan Zhang Weili

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The former UFC women’s strawweight champion came from humble beginnings in São Paulo, Brazil, to make a name for herself, her way – despite her slight height

The former UFC women’s strawweight champion came from humble beginnings in São Paulo, Brazil, to make a name for herself, her way – despite her slight height