“You see, where I'm from, fighting is simply not a 'girl's thing.' In Umuarama, I grew up playing football, which to my family was also not a girl's thing, to be honest. Playing football was my biggest passion. I wanted to be on TV, to be just like Marta. I even had a knack for it.”

Brazilian professional mixed martial artist

Jéssica Fernanda da Costa Andrade is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the UFC in the women’s strawweight and flyweight divisions, and is a former UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion and a flyweight title challenger. Andrade has built her reputation in mixed martial arts through competition at the highest level of the sport. Her career is tied to the two UFC weight classes she has fought in, and to her run as champion at strawweight, followed by her challenge for the flyweight title.