The beautiful Halle Berry is making her directorial debut this November with Bruised on Netflix, which will also see her star as the lead. While the actress is popular for her gorgeous red-carpet looks, we will get to see her in a rather different role when she plays Jackie Justice in this movie. Jackie is a retired MMA fighter who is struggling to make the ends meet; she has to make a return to the fighting world for personal reasons.

While the character of Justice is completely fictional; it provides us a POV to see the struggle of women in the fighting business. Well, let us look at some real-life female MMA fighters who have made a name for themselves.

Amanda Nunes

Brazilian mixed martial artist Amanda Nunes is arguably the greatest female fighter to ever compete in UFC. She is the current women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion. Nunes, as a fighter, is a complete package, and can easily compete with some of the best strikers of the world. Maybe Jackie Justice can compete with her, too?

Nunes, born on May 30, 1988, in Pojuca, a small town outside of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, is UFC’s first openly lesbian fighter. She is married to Nina Nunes (a fellow UFC fighter). As a girl, she dreamed of becoming a footballer and even played for a few teams. However, her mother stopped her from further participation as she wanted her to focus on her studies.

While reminiscing about her mother, Nunes says, “I was afraid of her! I was scared out of my skin. My mother was always a hard person, very rigid, she just looked at me and I already froze.” (quotes translated via Google Translate)

Valentina Shevchenko from Jackie Justice’s Bruised

Valentina Shevchenko, the UFC women’s flyweight champion, is one of the most influential women from the octagon. Many often call her a spy; Shevchenko is a kickboxer, taekwondo fighter, skilled grappler, and a black belt in Judo. From an early age, she had a love for combat sport inside of her; you can see that every time you watch her fight.

This Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian national is undoubtedly one of the most dedicated fighters in the UFC. Shevchenko is also playing a part in the upcoming Netflix movie Bruised, a story of an MMA fighter named Jackie Justice.

Valentina was born in Frunze, Kirghizia, USSR on March 7, 1988, in a family of sportspeople. Her mother was a Muay Thai champion and her father played in the national football team of Kyrgyzstan. Her elder sister, Antonina Shevchenko, is an MMA fighter as well. Hence, it is clear why she is such a great sports person.

Cristiane Justino Venâncio

Cristiane Justino Venâncio, more popularly known by her ring name Cris Cyborg, held the tag for the title of the most dominating woman in the history of MMA. Only bested by a certain Amanda Nunes, Cyborg is a living legend. She went on to win three featherweight championships in three different organizations; that tells you everything you need to know about this powerful lady.

Cyborg began her sports career back when she was 12 years old, playing handball at Brazil’s national level. Since she was pretty great at handball, she eventually received many scholarships from universities and studied physical education in the capital of Paranã, Curitiba. She was on her way to becoming a professional player until she listened to a teacher’s advice, who was quite impressed with her potential. It was that teacher who advised her to step into the fighting world.

Ronda Rousey

The American Ronda Rousey has a plethora of talents to show off; a mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, Olympic level judoka, and actress Rousey is widely regarded to be one of the biggest talents in the industry and hold a huge mainstream appeal. She is popularly known by her nickname “Rowdy, “, which she inherited from late wrestler Roddy Piper. Rousey has won an Olympic medal, as well as titles at both UFC and WWE. She does have a pretty great resume. 

Rousey was born in Riverside, California; she does have pretty great genes when it comes to sports as her mother was the first American to win a World Judo Championship.

After a stint in the WWE, Rousey is enjoying her time away from the industry; she regularly streams her gaming ventures from the comfort of her home.

Well, maybe Jackie Justice is not real, but I am pretty sure if she was she would have looked up to these women. Who is your favorite MMA fighter of all time?