Former strawweight champ Jessica Andrade shares some news on her financial situation following hard times.
Former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade feels hopeful about 2023. Having gone through a difficult year in 2022, where she had to deal with a divorce and a financial crisis, the Brazilian now feels optimistic and ready to turn her life around.
The reason behind her happiness is mostly due to a newly-signed UFC contract, which Andrade claims to be three times better than the one she had before. In a conversation on MMA Fighting’s podcast Trocacao Franca, ‘Bate Estaca’ says the new deal is going to change her life.
“It was something really good, a great change in my career,” Andrade said adding that her new deal pays “almost three times more” than her old one. “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,”
“My last contract had 10 fights, but Ali (Abdelaziz) said that was crazy, that it wasn’t a good idea to have a contract with so many fights,” she said. “He said, ‘Let’s do the next contract with less fights, but with you getting paid more.’”
However, the new contract is not the only reason why Andrade feels positive about her future. In an interview with Ag Fight, Jessica also revealed that the UFC paid her in advance to help Jessica resolve a difficult financial situation that grew from her divorce and the mishandling of her money by her ex-wife.
“After we split up, there was the whole divorce thing. You have to lawyer up and then the money just vanishes. Before I realized it, I had no money. That’s why I say I work for the biggest promotion in the world, though. When I needed them the most, they were there for me. Life is all about overcoming hardships and learning,”
“I learned a lot this past year,” Jessica said. “From now on, I’ll have special people taking care of everything for me. Always by my side, you can’t go wrong with it. From now on, we’re going to the top. It’s going to be the opposite, we’ll be the ones lending money to the UFC. This is a very promising year.”
In her last outing, Andrade (24-9) put herself on a three-fight winning streak when she defeated Lauren Murphy by unanimous decision. Before that, the 31-year-old scored wins over Amanda Lemos and Cynthia Calvillo. The Brazilian’s last loss took place in April 2021, when she got TKO’d by flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.
The 31-year-old is currently looking at a quick turnaround after accepting a short notice officer to take on Erin Blanchfield at UFC Vegas 69’s main event this coming Saturday. The card is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 18.