UFC star Jessica Andrade has revealed she has taken a job as a delivery driver, in a bid to pay the bills while she is injured.
The former strawweight champion, a 30-fight UFC veteran, last fought in August and lost to Loopy Godinez on points. Since then, she has been recovering from a shoulder injury.
The result against Godinez marked a third consecutive loss for the Brazilian, 34, who held the strawweight belt from May 2019 until August of the same year.
And while Andrade is unable to earn money through fighting, until she has reached full fitness and can compete in the UFC again, she has been working as a delivery driver and helping her friend with a landscaping project.
“Thank God, I managed to save a little money, so it’s going well,” Andrade said on the Direto de Vegas podcast. “But when needed, I work delivering. I go and deliver meals, things like that.
“So actually, it’s more or less that. You get paid through the app and you do the deliveries, and that’s how it goes. I manage.
“I’m not lazy when it comes to work. I can handle anything. Speaking of which, I recently started a project over at Rebecca’s house to put down some new grass.
“I said: ‘I’m going to do a test. If I’m good at this, it becomes one more thing that we can add if we ever find ourselves running a little short on cash, we need some extra money.’
“I feel like God is opening the way [...] and it helps to strengthen [my shoulder], right?”
Andrade’s story follows that of another Brazilian champion, Alexandre Pantoja, who worked as a delivery driver during Covid before winning the men’s flyweight title in 2023.
Pantoja, who only lost the belt in an injury-induced defeat last December, recalled after his title win: “Money was short, and my wife started to clean houses, and I started to drive Uber Eats.
“But I’d do this again if I needed, you know? It’s not just about myself, this is about my family and my kids – my two boys.”
