“I’ve always made it very clear that I am a homosexual. But that has never affected me when fighting or in my personal life.”
This is the bold statement that female mixed martial arts fighter Jessica Andrade confidently said during a recent interview. Andrade admits that she doesn’t expect people to view things differently, preferably in her point of view. She acknowledges the fact that every person has the right to understand things whichever way they want, and if ever other people would want to treat her differently, it will not be a problem. She claims that she still chooses to continue to be the person that the she was from the start- a woman who is affectionate and comfortable with her own sexual orientation.
Just recently, there were people who said a couple of things about her fighting in a cage. Andrade said, “When I was booked against Liz Carmouche, some people were saying that no one cares to see lesbian behavior in the cage. They were saying they’d rather see real fights. But I’ll never change my way of being to make some people happy. In the octagon, I’ll always be the same fighter.”.
In the interview, Andrade admits that every time she meets other people, she thinks of this as her chance to show that being a homosexual does not make them less of a person. That in fact, they are as normal as what other heterosexual people are. She believes that a behavior of a person isn’t defined by their sexuality. Her way of showing how she cares and how she communicates to her friends and loved ones do not change just because she is attracted to women.
Although Andrade may open about her being a homosexual mixed martial arts UFC fighter, she knows that being a homosexual may not come easy for the guys to admit that they are gay while competing in mixed martial arts.
When it comes to male fighters who are homosexual, Andrade said she knows that it is an entirely different story. While female UFC MMA fighters are more comfortable coming out as lesbians, male UFC fighters are not that comfortable coming out and can sometimes handle the situation in a different way. She understands that when it comes to gay men in the UFC, the fear of coming out really takes a lot of courage and emotional strength.
She said, “I don’t know about male homosexuals in MMA, but I know that gay women tend to fight hard because we aren’t worried about being judged,” she said. “We’re just concerned with doing a good job. People don’t care as much anymore.” She also said that, “When it comes to men, that fear of being out is still there. I hope when a guy comes out in the UFC, that he won’t be afraid. It’s difficult at first, but little by little people will understand. It gets better.”.
Even though Andrade (3-2) is well aware that there are still people who are not comfortable with her sexuality, she admitted that she never had any problems in presenting herself honestly.
Andrade is set to fight Sarah Moras in San Diego this Wednesday.