Jessica Andrade is pretty happy with her new Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contract.
It was revealed during UFC 284 this past weekend (Feb. 11, 2023) that the former Strawweight champion was stepping in for a short-notice main event spot at UFC Vegas 69 against rising Flyweight star, Erin Blanchfield, this weekend (Sat., Feb. 18, 2023). Andrade recently left her longtime management team at On The Road Management for Dominance MMA and negotiated a new deal ahead of the bout that sees her sitting comfortably in the financial department.
“It was something really good, a great change in my career,” Andrade told MMA Fighting. “Now I’ll really be able to make my nest egg and plan my life. Maybe my body won’t be the same in five or six years, so now I’ll be able to change my life and my family’s lives.
“This is work well done from my part, but also my team, to be putting on good fights and always being available when the UFC needs,” she concluded. “This fight has really saved my life in every sense. I’ll even buy my mother a new house.”
The Brazilian has been open about her struggles as an athlete despite being a one-time champion. Most recently, Andrade shared how she shut down her OnlyFans account and never really wanted to open it in the first place. From the sounds of things, she won’t have anything to worry about going forward.
“My last contract had 10 fights, but [my manager] Ali [Abdelaziz] said that was crazy, that it wasn’t a good idea to have a contract with so many fights,” Andrade said. “He said, ‘Let’s do the next contracts with less fights, but with you getting paid more.’”
Andrade last fought in Jan. 2023, scoring a dominant one-sided unanimous decision over one-time Flyweight title challenger, Lauren Murphy.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 69 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 7 p.m. ET.
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