A Brazilian MMA Fighter Claims That She is Traumatized After a Clash With a Man Who Allegedly Masturbated in Front of Her at a Beach Photoshoot… 

You may have heard the story a couple of weeks ago about a female MMA fighter who reacted explosively to a man who allegedly masturbated in front of her while she was taking part in a photo shoot on a beach in Rio De Janeiro. Joyce Vieira and her friend were taking photos at the Praia do Braga beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when she claims they saw the man performing the sex act.

The man apparently wouldn’t stop so Vieira took things into her own hands. After verbally trying to get him to put his junk back in the trunk, she kicked out at the alleged pervert, who then tried to punch her. Bad move. She put a beating on him until he went away.

Now she has spoken out about how it has emotionally affected her, as well as the challenges a female MMA fighter faces in gaining respect in a male-dominated sport.

Screenshot: Twitter.

Trauma

Despite her strong reaction to the alleged incident, Viera still claims to be emotionally affected by the disturbance. She says that it has affected her ability to sleep, as she keeps waking up and thinking about the creep, who has since been arrested on obscenity charges and released. She said:

 “It affected my life, more because I had that reaction. I didn’t put my head down and I faced up to him. For a whole week I slept and woke up with the scene in my head. It affected my life, more because I had that reaction. I didn’t put my head down and I faced up to him. For a whole week, I slept and woke up with the scene in my head.”

“We feel powerless. It’s very strange because he’s going to be in the same city as me, and who knows, he might be in the same places. That’s why I have received an innumerable number of messages from women saying that (in similar situations) they didn’t file a report, because they know the suspects would end up being released. I think the punishment for these cases should be more severe.”

Screenshot: Twitter.

Challenge

Viera also commented on how difficult it is to be taken seriously in a sport which is so male-dominated. Add in the fact that she is from a country with a history of macho culture, and it’s fair to say she might have a good point. She explained:

“To be honest it’s very difficult because until today I have suffered a bit from men looking down their noses at me in training because I’m a woman. But that’s just fuel for me and I want to stay and fight more and more every day for the love that fighting awoke in me.

I’m a feminist and after all this, I’m going to embrace the cause with everything. It’s the first type of harassment like that which I have faced but I have to suffer sexism every day.”

Screenshot: Instagram.

Inspiration

Brazil has produced some legends of the sport and if she needs any inspiration she can surely take some from two of the greatest female fighters in the history of the entire sport – men included. Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg are UFC and MMA icons.

Both hail from the Samba nation and have massive followings in their own countries. You could make a strong argument for either one of them being the women’s GOAT. Brazil could have yet another female UFC champion if Jessica Andrade can beat Rose Namajunas on May 12.

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