- Jessica-Rose Clark ties the knot in America
- Ex-UFC star marries fellow martial artist
- Has spoken out about addiction issues
Australian former UFC fighter Jessica-Rose Clark has announced she is tying the knot with a fellow martial artist in the United States, saying he is the “sweetest man she has ever met.”
The 36-year-old fan favorite announced her wedding to boyfriend Freddy Pedrique via social media on Wednesday morning.
“I married the kindest, sweetest, dumbest, most compassionate man I have ever met,” her post began.
“Thanks for letting me dress you in Levi’s, talk to me, and walk with me in the mud.
“Thank you for always making me laugh, and for showing me love even when I’m a b-word.
Ex-UFC fighter Jessica-Rose Clark has announced she is tying the knot with fellow martial artist Freddy Pedrique (pictured together)
Clark described her new husband as the “kindest, sweetest, silliest and most compassionate man I have ever met”
“It was a whirlwind, but as they say ‘when you know, you know’ and I knew as soon as you said I was in charge.
“Now you’re stuck with me.”
Pedrique announced the news of the wedding on his own Instagam account, writing: “I just looked up from my cereal. And I said, ‘You know what I want to do today? I want to marry you.
“My life has been so much fun since you came into it. I look forward to spending the rest with you.”
Clark has been open about her struggles with addiction after a tragedy in her family caused her to turn to alcohol to “run from my problems.”
“I didn’t start drinking until I was 19 when my grandma died,” she admitted on powerlifter Mark Bell’s Power Project Podcast.
‘When my grandmother died, I went into a spiral. And I worked in nightclubs in Australia for a long time. People always gave me free medicine.
The Australian MMA star has been open about her struggles with alcoholism and drugs
‘I would get free drinks. I was running nightclubs and everyone said, ‘Let us in, I’ll give you a bag of pills.’
Always athletically gifted, Clark discovered kickboxing when she was 23, which led to her career in mixed martial arts taking off in 2012.
But she was never able to tackle her battle with booze until it really started to have an impact on her fighting career several years ago.
“I got sober in July 2018 because I lost a fight. I fought Jessica Eye at UFC Singapore and I was so unhappy that whole camp. So I drank the whole camp.
“The only time I didn’t drink was during fight week.
Clark was kicked out of the UFC in 2023, but has expressed interest in competing in other combat sports after overcoming her addiction
“I lost that and thought, man, I gotta make some changes. The first thing that went away was alcohol, so I’ve been sober for four years now.”
Clark believes her MMA training has been the key to preventing a relapse.
‘Fighting gave me something to channel that energy into. I don’t know, it’s so addictive that it replaces the addiction to alcohol,” she explained.
“The way I was able to get sober was to focus on fighting… setting goals in fighting that became greater than my desire to drink alcohol.”
Clark was cut from the UFC roster at Mat 2023 after a loss to Tainara Lisboa.
She impressed in the worst of ways on the UFC 276 card when her arm was broken by her opponent in sickening scenes in July 2022.
The Australian has expressed interest in further competing in combat sports, but not in mixed martial arts.