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Jessica Andrade has filed a lawsuit in the United States against former coach and manager Gilliard Parana, accusing the leader of Parana Vale Tudo of embezzlement.

The former UFC strawweight champion began working with Parana as her coach and manager at age 21, a relationship that spanned from 2012 to 2024. She accuses him of stealing a total of $ 2 million. Parana, who denied the accusations in a statement issued to MMA Fighting, returned to Brazil shortly after Andrade announced their split. He has since announced his retirement as an MMA coach and manager.

Andrade currently lives in Las Vegas and trains alongside Karol Rosa, Jessica Delboni, and Denise Gomes, who also left PRVT earlier this year. Andrade has won her past two UFC fights with Matheus Naccache as her new head coach. She’s set to return to the cage this Saturday, Sept. 7, in a co-headlining battle against Natalia Silva at UFC Vegas 97.

“We have a lawsuit going about TransferWise and the money that was transferred to other people I’ve never seen in my life,” Andrade told MMA Fighting. “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. 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.”

Andrade has fought 27 times under the UFC banner, dating back to her debut as a bantamweight in 2013. Losing $ 2 million has changed her plans for the future.

“I could be thinking about retiring now, right?” Andrade said. “In fact, I’ll have to keep fighting to make that money again and have a normal life. But it’s all good, God knows of all things. Sometimes we have to go down so we can get back up better. I’m ready to receive what God has for my life. God won’t ever let me give up.”

Andrade said her finances are now under control and she’s not struggling for cash. The 32-year-old Brazilian has won her past two UFC bouts, knocking out Mackenzie Dern and then earning a split decision over Marina Rodriguez.

“I can sleep at night knowing I’ve done good things to everybody, never did anything bad to anyone,” Andrade said. “What he’s taken from me, that’s all he’s ever going to have, because he’s lost all his athletes, he’s lost everything. The only thing he still has is the gym in Curitiba, which he opened with my money, and that’s all he’s going to have for the rest of his life.”

Parana denied all accusations to MMA Fighting and said his words will proven during the investigation.

“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 in a statement to MMA Fighting. “She has a lot of expenses, and there are so many that she even gets lost in the calculations. Jessica is not incapable. Jessica is not a 15-year-old girl. And Jessica is not illiterate. Jessica was never forbidden from going to the bank, from calling the bank and from finding out how her accounts were.

“Jessica 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.”

Parana’s statement to MMA Fighting can be seen below.

It was never like the way she’s insinuating, that I stole a single cent from her, much less the amount she’s talking about, which is completely baseless.

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. She has a lot of expenses, and there are so many that she even gets lost in the calculations. Jessica is not incapable. Jessica is not a 15-year-old girl. And Jessica is not illiterate. Jessica was never forbidden from going to the bank, from calling the bank and from finding out how her accounts were. Jessica 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.

Another important thing to mention is that she says I have lost everything, that I only have a gym in Curitiba left which I bought with her money. This is absurd and very petulant of her to say this because I have always worked. I’m 44. When I met Jéssica Andrade, I had a nice car, I had a gym, I had a job. In all the years that she was with me, I always had other athletes. In fact, in the last few years, I have had four fighters simultaneously in the UFC. She’s talking as if I had no resources other than the payments she made me, and she doesn’t even mention the payments she made me. From her narrative I had no salary, I had no other jobs, no other athletes, and everything I bought in my life I stole from her. These are things that make no sense for her to talk about. And I didn’t even have the gym in Curitiba left because that’s my nephew’s gym, Bruno, who worked for her for a long time. It’s really becoming a persecution, her trying to defame me. I was — I don’t know if I still am, but I was — a very well-known guy in my work as a head coach and team leader, and I always worked hard representing fighters. I had four athletes in the UFC and I always earned a lot from them because I delivered on my promises. Certainly, if I bought anything, if I have any assets, it’s thanks to my work as a whole, nothing coming from the wrong thing.

I suspect that Jessica in 2023 — which is the year these accusations that were made by her occurred — she didn’t earn $ 2 million, as she’s saying she was robbed. It could be something close to that — unless she fought Conor McGregor and no one found out. All of you, media, fans, and herself, I think that after she sees my response here, if she sits at home and starts to remember everything she spent, she will have an idea that this calculation she is doing is not adding up.

And I always told Jessica that when she stopped fighting, got injured or retired, I would stop working as a head coach because I am already very tired of this kind of talk, with people I helped reach the top, it always causes problems. After I announced my retirement, it is obvious that most of them would leave as well since I would no longer be in charge of the work done as I always did. So when these problems with Jessica happened, I announced my retirement and I was not joking, I was not lying. It is obvious that the other athletes would leave, and I did not go after them, I did not care about keeping them on the team. Each one went their own way and I am sure that I fulfilled everything I promised everyone. I got everyone out of bad situations and left everyone well, whether with a contract with the UFC or another promotion, or working in a better place.

I made a UFC champion, an Invicta FC champion, and now Mairon [Santos] won TUF, a guy I worked with for six, seven years. I did great things in the fight business and didn’t steal from anyone. I worked hard as coach and manager, and I did very well in my career. If I were to go on about everything I remember here I’d spend a day talking about it because there’s a lot to talk about, but I hope I don’t need to talk about these things anymore.

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Bullet returns
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Former two-division champion Conor McGregor has not competed in more than three years and as of this writing, has no immediate plans to make his Octagon return. That may explain why “Notorious” is taking a back seat to reigning bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, who had no idea how much money he was going to make as 135-pound titleholder.

“O’Malley is the biggest star in our sport right now,” retired middleweight and current UFC analyst Chael Sonnen said on his YouTube channel (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “And ‘Red Panty Night’ is still real. Conor’s not in the sport, he’s not even licensed. Conor could not walk in and fight tonight if he wanted to. I’m just sharing with you, who’s in the sport, it’s one of those things. Conor has no more of a claim to this sport right now than [Georges] St-Pierre or Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. In fact, St-Pierre and Khabib have attended more UFCs in the last year than Conor.”

McGregor was scheduled to return from his lengthy hiatus, extended by way of broken leg (and broken relationships), atop the UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) card last June. Unfortunately, another injury prevented his “Notorious” comeback and his current timeline appears to be 2025 … or never, depending on who you ask.

During his absence, O’Malley competed five times and captured the bantamweight crown.

“I feel that O’Malley, as the biggest star, who’s the hardest working guy outside of the cage that division has ever seen, Top 5 in the sports history — he might be No. 1 — he is a Top 5 in history of the hardest working guys outside of the cage,” Sonnen continued. “For him to have landed this rocket ship in this position and whoever gets in the passenger seat and now you’re telling me [the oddsmakers] believe that he’s two-and-a-half times more likely to lose than he is to win and even if he wins he draws into a guy with a similar disastrous style? That is a lot for a young man to take on, but that seems to be exactly where O’Malley does his best work. That seems to be, when that house is on fire, and he’s right on the edge and people aren’t believing him and he’s got to stay sharp and if he’s not sharp he’s going to fall into a bed of needles, that seems to be where Sean O’Malley performs his finest.”

We’ll find out when “Suga” fights Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 on Sept. 14 at The Sphere.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Inoue vs. Doheny fight card features a five-fight event headlined by pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue defending his IBF, WBC, and WBO super bantamweight titles against former champ TJ Doheny in a 12-round boxing match at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) is widely considered one of the top talents in all of boxing. The 31-year-old Japanese fighter most recently defended his belts with a sixth-round knockout of Luis Nery this past May. A four-division champion, Inoue is the first boxer in modern history to become the undisputed super bantamweight champion and one of only three male boxers in the four-belt era to become undisputed champ in two different weight classes.

Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) is a former IBF super bantamweight champion hailing from Ireland. The 37-year-old has struggled to find consistency since dropping his title in 2019, stringing together a 5-4 record over nine bouts, but turned his fortunes around to win three straight fights over Kazuki Nakajima, Japhethlee Llamido, and Bryl Bayogos over the past 15 months.

Inoue vs. Doheny takes place Tuesday, September 3, and airs live on ESPN+.

Catch live Inoue vs. Doheny results and a main event live blog on MMA Fighting.

An updated Inoue vs. Doheny fight card and weigh-in results can be found below.

Fight Card (5:45 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Naoya Inoue (122) vs. TJ Doheny (121.5) — 12 rounds, IBF/WBC/WBO super bantamweight title

Yoshiki Takei (117.75) vs. Daigo Higa (117.75) — 12 rounds, WBO bantamweight title

Jin Sasaki (146.25) vs. Qamil Balla (147) — 12 rounds, welterweight

Ismael Barroso (139.75) vs. Andy Hiraoka (139.75) — 12 rounds, junior welterweight

Toshiki Shimomachi (122) vs. Ryuya Tsugawa (121.75) — 10 rounds, junior featherweight

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Lerone Murphy recently suggested that Jon Jones warrants special deference to avoid a potential showdown with Tom Aspinall.

Aspinall’s patience appears to be wearing thin as he persistently calls out Jones for a UFC heavyweight title unification bout. The interim heavyweight champion has been unreservedly articulate about his eagerness to challenge “Bones” ever since he claimed the title at UFC 295 last November.

However, “Bones” has shown little interest in the much-anticipated matchup with Aspinall. Instead of considering a showdown, the reigning heavyweight champion has made it clear that his focus is firmly on fighting Stipe Miocic, a bout expected to headline UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden this November.

Jones has often teased the possibility of retiring after conquering an esteemed former heavyweight champion like Miocic, which would further solidify his status as the GOAT. Meanwhile, “The Miracle” believes that with everything Jones has already accomplished in the sport, there’s no need for him to prove himself against Aspinall…

Murphy Thinks Jones Enjoys Perks Uncommon To Other Fighters

During a recent interview with Title Sports Network, Murphy weighed in on the escalating tension between Jones and Aspinall, noting that things have taken a turn for the worse. The undefeated featherweight contender remarked that Aspinall should have taken a tougher stance from the start. However, he doubts his fellow countryman will secure the fight he’s after, as Jones enjoys certain well-earned privileges from the UFC.

Jones last graced the Octagon in March 2023, where he claimed the heavyweight title with a decisive submission victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. He was set to defend his title for the first time against Miocic at UFC 295, but “Bones” was compelled to withdraw just two weeks before the fight due to a severe pectoral injury.

• Read More: Jake Paul Tries To Broker Multi-Million Dollar Payday For “Bones” To Fight Tom Aspinall: ‘Jon Jones Doesn’t Dodge Anyone’

Continue Reading Rising UK Contender Lerone Murphy Feels Jon Jones ‘Deserves’ Special Treatment To Avoid Tom Aspinall Fight at MMA News.

MMA News

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Belal Muhammad may have been the underdog heading into his title fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 304, but he quickly proved his championship mettle.

After waiting more than a year to fight for UFC gold, Muhammad made the most of his opportunity with a stunning performance to dethrone Edwards and claim the welterweight title. As much as it seemed like the odds were stacked against Muhammad heading into the fight, one of his former foes had a lot of faith that he would become champion.

Gilbert Burns, the last person to face Muhammad prior to his title fight, wasn’t surprised by the result. He says he predicted the UFC 304 upset well before it happened.

“I kind of saw that coming,” Burns told MMA Fighting. “Especially [because] Leon is a great fighter, but whenever he was saying, ‘I’m going to knock this guy out’ — bro, it’s hard to knock Belal out. The guy has a chin. Leon Edwards in the last, I don’t know, 10 fights, he has maybe one knockout against Kamaru [Usman]. Other than that, he doesn’t knock people out.

“On technique, striking-wise, Leon Edwards is very, very good, but putting everything together with the pace, with the volume, staying in your face with takedowns, dirty boxing, especially doing the camp with Islam [Makhachev] and Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I kind of felt that was the path for Belal to win — and he did exactly what he had to.”

At the end of the day, Burns was one of only a few who foresaw Muhammad’s impressive performance. He expected Edwards to put up a better fight than he did that night in Manchester, England, but ultimately Muhammad left no doubt about his mettle, largely dominating the fight both on the feet and with his grappling across five rounds to become UFC champion.

“I wasn’t impressed — I knew what he was doing,” Burns said. “He had a long layoff preparing for this fight and I think he was feeding off the [fact that] UFC made him wait, Leon made him wait. He was fed up from that. He was very hungry. He worked super hard. You saw he was in amazing shape.

“I just thought Leon would do a little bit better job defending, but I still [expected to see] Belal overwhelming him with work. Belal looked very good in becoming champion. People cannot deny him anymore.”

Immediately after his win, Muhammad started looking toward the future, laying out plans to defend his title against the biggest and best challenges UFC can throw at him.

Despite living in the “money fight” era where picking popular opponents sometimes trumps more worthy contenders, Muhammad made it clear that he wants to be a fighting champion who takes out the top contenders in his welterweight division.

That list potentially starts with undefeated wrecking machine Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Burns appreciates that Muhammad recognized that right away.

“He’s a good champion,” Burns said. “I think he’s doing a good thing facing Shavkat [Rakhmonov], the toughest competition out there, whoever is the No. 1 [ranked contender]. I like what he’s doing.”

Because UFC has already mapped out the rest of the schedule for 2024, there’s a good chance Muhammad won’t fight again this year. All of the remaining major pay-per-view cards are effectively booked aside from an official confirmation regarding Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November, and then the year-end card at UFC 310 on Dec. 7.

If Muhammad doesn’t defend his title in 2024, Burns likes the idea of a true No. 1 contender emerging with Rakhmonov potentially facing another top-ranked welterweight.

“In the whole division, I think [Rakhmonov is] the guy that deserves it the most, but I know he was going to fight Jack Della Maddalena,” Burns said. “That was a good fight, but Jack still has an injury on his arm, he had a couple operations making the arm good. But if Belal is not ready this year, I think Shavkat should do one more this year, maybe [against] Jack or maybe Ian Garry. I think those are the guys at the top. Kamaru is there but it’s three losses [in a row], he kind of doesn’t necessarily deserve it right now. Colby [Covington is there, too], but he’s not doing anything. Leon, I don’t think he deserves a rematch right now.

“Shavkat against Jack or Ian Garry would make a lot of sense to be next. Shavkat could be next if Belal is ready to go in Abu Dhabi or in Salt Lake City, but if he has to postpone due to these injuries, Shavkat might do one more to get it so we have a clear No. 1 contender.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts