Jessica Andrade delivers food and renovates homes during recovery

Jessica Andrade has been delivering food and taking home-renovation jobs while she recovers from a shoulder injury, saying she will do "whatever it takes" to earn a living and is "not afraid of hard work."

The former UFC strawweight champion has not fought in nearly a year, a long pause that cuts off the fight purses that make up most of an MMA athlete’s income. For Andrade, the gap between champion status and day-to-day cash flow has meant finding work outside the cage while her shoulder heals.

That reality highlights how little financial cover exists in combat sports. Entry-level UFC fighters can make $12,000 just to show up, but that payment still depends on stepping into the Octagon. In the NFL, by contrast, veteran minimum salaries in 2026 range from $885,000 for rookies to $1.3 million for players with seven or more credited seasons, and contract language can include skill, cap and injury guarantees.

Injuries also bring direct medical costs that can quickly swallow fight income. A Colorado sports doctor has estimated shoulder surgery at roughly $6,000 to $22,000, before accounting for the time lost while an athlete is unable to compete. For an MMA fighter who is paid by bout rather than on a guaranteed salary, the bill can arrive just as the purse disappears.

Andrade’s combination of food delivery and renovation work shows how thin the margin can be even for a former champion. The work is temporary by choice, but the need behind it is structural: in MMA, a shoulder injury can stop the next paycheck as surely as it stops a right hand.