Jessica Andrade attempted to keep her “cool” during a recent incident in her native Brazil, where she was robbed at gunpoint. However, the UFC strawweight champion admits there were moments she feared for her life.
Last week, Andrade (20-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) and her wife, Fernanda Gomes, were driving when their car was stopped by a motorcyclist. The perpetrators forced the two women to hand over their cellphones, jewelry and other items before taking the vehicle.
Andrade said she wasn’t completely aware of the incoming robbery until she spotted the gun, and at that point she simply followed instructions and attempted to keep her wife calm. It was Gomes, however, who may have saved herself and the UFC champ from physical harm.
“My car’s hand brake is a button that was pressed,” Andrade told ESPN.com about the incident. “He didn’t know that and was having trouble to make the car go. I was like, ‘Oh great. Now he’s going to get out of the car and shoot us. We’re screwed.’ Until Fernanda told them about the hand brake. They managed to do it and went away.”
After the robbery occurred, Andrade said people inside a nearby business helped her call the police. They were able to go to the station to file a report, and days later the abandoned vehicle was recovered with some of the lost documents still present.
As Andrade’s manager told MMA Junkie shortly after the incident, these types of situations are common in Brazil. It has happened to other UFC fighters in the country, as well, and Andrade said she was equipped to handle it.
The most crucial response to an armed robbery is self preservation, Andrade said, and for her it was important to act intelligently in order to survive.
“If the guy tries to rob you unarmed, then you can use self-defense,” Andrade said. “But when he has a gun, don’t put your life at risk.”
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