Jennifer Maia is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Women’s Flyweight division for the UFC. She started muay Thai at the age of 15 and later turned to boxing and to mixed martial arts. Having started her boxing career in 2009, she is a former Invicta FC Flyweight World Champion. She signed with the UFC in 2018. As of May 2022, she stands at No. 8 in the UFC women’s flyweight rankings.
What is Jennifer Maia Famous For?
- Won the Invicta FC Flyweight Championship in 2016.
Source: @Instagram
Where is Jennifer Maia From?
Jennifer Maia was born Jennifer Apreciada Goncalves de Maia on 6 October 1988. Her birth place is in Curitiba, Parana in Brazil. She holds Brazilian nationality. She belongs to the Latin ethnicity and her religion is Christianity. She was athletic since her childhood. She grew up playing soccer. However, she transitioned into muay Thai at the age of 15. She is not related to Demian Maia who is also a professional MMA fighter from Brazil.
Source: @Instagram
Jennifer Maia Career
- Jennifer Maia grew up playing soccer. However, she developed an interest in muay Thai and eventually transitioned into it at the age of 15. On the national level, she won several national titles. She then turned to boxing and to mixed martial arts. She made her professional boxing debut at Centri de Boxe in Curitiba, Brazil in March 2008. She defeated Michelle Bonassoli via unanimous decision. She then defeated Juliana de Aguiar and Lorena Nancy Lopez before transitioning into MMA.
- She made her MMA debut in December 2009. She won her first four fights, all won in the first round. She suffered her first loss against fellow Brazilian Vanessa Porto in October 2011. She then defeated Tatiane Porfirio Aguiar via second-round submission in January 2012.
- She suffered a controversial knockout loss to future UFC fighter Sheila Gaff at Cage Warriors Fight Night 4 in March 2012. At the start of the fight, when both fighters met in the center of the age to touch gloves, Gaff threw several punches to knock Maia out in just 10 seconds. She defeated Jessica Andrade via unanimous decision in December 2012.
- She made her Invicta Fighting Championship debut at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson against former Bellator Women’s Strawweight Champion, Zoila Frausto Gurgel in April 2013. She won via unanimous decision. She lost her chance for the no. 1 contender for the Flyweight Championship after she lost to Leslie Smith via unanimous decision in April 2013.
- She won the interim Invicta FC Flyweight Championship title in March 2016 after she defeated Vanessa Porto via unanimous decision. After the defending champion Barb Honchak became unable to compete in a title unification bout, Honchak was stripped of her title and Maia was named the undisputed Invicta FC Flyweight World Champion. She successfully defended her title against Roxanne Modafferi and Agnieszka Niedzwiedz before vacating it in July 2018.
- She signed with the UFC in 2018. She made her UFC debut against Liz Carmouche at UFC Fight Night 133 in July 2018. She lost her UFC debut fight. She tested positive for multiple banned substances (ingested through tainted supplements) and was suspended for six months.
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- She defeated Alexis Davis at UFC Fight Night 148 via unanimous decision. She was scheduled to fight Roxanne Modafferi at UFC on ESPN 4. However, she weighed 129 pounds, 3 pounds over the women’s flyweight non-title fight limit of 126. She was fined 30 percent of her purse and the bout proceeded to a catchweight fight. Maia defeated Modafferi via unanimous decision.
- She signed a new six-fight contract with the UFC in 2019. She was once again fined 25 % of her purse after she weighed 1.2 pounds over the limit of 126. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. She defeated Joanne Calderwood via armbar submission in round one at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. The win earned her the Performance of the Night award.
- She faced Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship at UFC 255 in November 2020. However, she failed to win the title after she lost the fight via unanimous decision. She then defeated Jessica Eye at UFC 264 before losing to Katlyn Chookagian at UFC on ESPN 32. She signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC in 2022. Her first fight through her new contract was against Manon Fiorot at UFC on ESPN 33. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Source: @Instagram
Who is Jennifer Maia Husband?
Jennifer Maia is a married woman. She is married to Ed Monstro. Her husband Monstro is a former MMA fighter who is her trainer and coach. The couple shares twin children. More details about her personal life, family, parents, and siblings will be available here.
She lives in her home town Curitiba, Parana, Brazil.
Source: @Instagram
What is Jennifer Maia Height?
Jennifer Maia stands at the height of 1.63 m i.e. 5 feet and 4 inches tall. She has a body weight of 125 lbs i.e. 57 kg. She has an athletic body build. She has a reach of 1.63 m. Her eye color is dark brown and her hair color is black.
Her sexual orientation is straight.
What is Jennifer Maia Net Worth?
Jennifer Maia earns from her professional career as an MMA fighter. Having started her fighting career in 2009, she signed with the UFC in 2018. She has won over $400k in purses from her fighting career in the UFC. She previously competed in the Invicta Fighting Championships where she won the Invicta FC Flyweight World Championship in 2016. As of 2022, her net worth is estimated at around $200k.
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