Champ Amanda Nunes might have been the first Brazilian woman signed by the UFC. But it was Jessica Andrade who became Brazil’s first female representative to actually set foot in the octagon. Andrade, then 21, wasn’t even two years into her professional MMA career when she was scheduled to face inaugural women’s 135-pound title challenger Liz Carmouche. Andrade suffered a TKO loss in her debut, but went on to win her following three scraps before losses to Marion Renee and Raquel Pennington convinced the 5-foot-2 Brazilian it was time to try the strawweight division. The move paid off
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