Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jéssica Andrade has sued her ex-coach and manager Gilliard Parana for allegedly embezzling $2 million.
Andrade is set for her next assignment inside the Octagon at this weekend’s UFC Fight Night, where she will feature in a flyweight co-headliner opposite her fellow countrywoman Natália Silva.
But while she gears up for her pursuit of a third straight win off the back of triumphs over Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez, it appears that Andrade also has a battle brewing away from the steel surroundings of the cage.
“Bate Estaca” currently trains alongside the likes of Karol Rosa and Denise Gomes under the guidance of Matheus Naccache, who has been at the helm for the Brazilian veteran’s last two fights.
Beforehand, Andrade had a longtime coach in Parana of Parana Vale Tudo. The pair’s split hasn’t come on good terms, with some serious accusations being leveled his way…
Andrade Sues Former Coach, Parana Responds
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Andrade detailed her allegations against Parana, who became the Brazilian fighter’s coach and manager when she was 21 years old.
“Bate Estaca” was coached by Parana for 12 years, during which enough trust accumulated for her to agree for him to handle her finances. Andrade claims she had no access to her accounts, and when she began to be short on money, she was told by Parana that excessive shopping was to blame.
Having since taken a closer look and identified suspicious money transfers, Andrade has accused the former trainer of embezzlement.
“We have a lawsuit going about TransferWise and the money that was transferred to other people I’ve never seen in my life,” Andrade said. “That happened when he was taking care of my finances, and I had no access to anything. At one point he said, ‘Jessica, look, let me handle this for you, you don’t have to worry about any of this.’ And as always, I trusted him. He removed my access to the account. He said, ‘You don’t need to look at your accounts, you’ll have a monthly salary.’ I was making good money in the beginning, but in the end I don’t know how [that money ran out].
“He said I was shopping too much on Amazon, but with the investigation and all that, [we saw that] I made $2 million and spent $10,000 on Amazon. Where did the rest of the money go? It makes no sense, and it’s being investigated now, and we’ll find out where every penny went,” Andrade continued. “I’ll just wait for now. I’m preparing for this fight [on Saturday], and as soon as it’s over, I’ll look at this lawsuit again and keep it moving. The lawsuit is moving in the United States and he’s in Brazil, so I don’t know how it’s going to work. He was quite smart, he left before things happened.”
Following his split with Andrade, Parana announced his retirement from MMA coaching and management and returned to Brazil.
Parana denied any wrongdoing in a statement to MMA Fighting, insisting that Andrade’s financial situation is entirely down to her expenses. He also dismissed any notion that he hid the true nature of the fighter’s accounts from her.
“Anyone who has a brain and knows how to do math will see that she really doesn’t spend her money on just a few purchases on Amazon,” Parana said. “She has a lot of expenses, and there are so many that she even gets lost in the calculations. Jéssica is not incapable. Jéssica is not a 15-year-old girl. And Jéssica is not illiterate. Jéssica was never forbidden from going to the bank, from calling the bank and from finding out how her accounts were.
“Jéssica always had full access to her things and was always intelligent enough to know everything that happened in her financial life. And I was never the guy who took care of her financial life. I was just her advisor when she needed it and asked for it. But all of this will be proven if there is a coherent investigation. May justice be served and may the wrongdoer pay, because lying to the authorities and lying to have a trial go your favor is also a crime. Let’s wait and see what happens.”
It would appear that this story is far from its conclusion.
For now, however, Andrade will need to have her focus elsewhere if she’s to keep her winning form inside the Octagon alive at the expense of the fast-charging Silva.
