Jessica Andrade is no stranger to posting a revealing photo or two online. Back when she claimed the UFC’s strawweight championship, the Brazilian chose to post a photo to social media of her wearing nothing but the belt.
More power to her. But her decision to bare all more recently took a different twist, when nude photos of the former champion were leaked by a patron on adult content marketplace OnlyFans (yes, we know, OnlyFans is for more than just porn, but really, is it?).
Andrade (21-9), still a top ten fighter in the UFC, turned to the adult content business at the suggestion of her wife, Fernanda Gomes, she explained in a new interview with MMA Fighting. And she was not surprised, nor apparently all that upset, when nude photos of her, commissioned by a private buyer, were leaked online.
“I wasn’t upset because I already imagined it could happen,” Andrade told the website, noting that she had seen just that happen to other fighters as well. “I wasn’t upset because I did all this knowing that it would leak eventually.”
“I’m 30 and my body won’t look pretty for the rest of my life, so we have to enjoy it while it’s nice. No one will want to see it later,” she added.
Andrade’s decision to turn to selling explicit photos online is likely to rekindle the heated debate over fighter pay. A discussion among MMA faithful that has become heated in recent months, with numerous fighters revealing their struggle to make ends meet while competing for the largest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet.
In response, UFC President Dana White called journalists reporting on struggling fighters “scumbags.”
“Every media member that talks about fighter pay is a scumbag who is basically just out there to get attention, because they literally know nothing about the business or the pay or how any of this sh*t works,” he stated on former heavyweight fighter Travis Browne’s podcast. “It’s all part of the game.”
Andrade, who said she might feel differently had the photos been taken against her will, noted that she recognized the risks, even if she was under the belief that she was selling her nudes to one person. In fact, she recognized that it probably would happen. “You don’t know this person’s heart and nature, and unfortunately that happened. But it was a learning experience. So we do photos now, but only to the right people and the right way.”
The upside for the fighter, however, appears worth it.
“I paid off my car and six or seven months of rent [in Las Vegas] in advance,” she said. “I haven’t even used the money of my last fight’s purse. I was able to pay my bills in Brazil, help my family and help Fernanda’s family with OnlyFans’ money.
“It’s nice when you check your account and see the money is still there. You’re like, ‘My God, I’m buying a lot of stuff on Amazon, my house is like a market right now, and the account remains the same. … Even though the photos have leaked, it was only four or five photos.”
Should we be shocked that the former UFC champion needs to turn to OnlyFans to pay her bills? Probably not. Back in 2018, she was selling some of her UFC gear to make ends meet. At the time, she stated she was happy with her pay — but that even a small bump would make life much easier.
Note: As a general rule, Cageside Press does not report on leaked personal photos of athletes, out of respect for their privacy. However, as Jessica Andrade has chosen to discuss the matter publicly, we’re making an exception in this instance.
