Getty Felice Herrig (black top) prepares against Paige VanZant (pink top) before their women's strawweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event.
Former UFC strawweight Felice Herrig revealed she sells used socks online and makes more money than she ever did fighting.
Herrig is coming off a submission loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in her last outing at UFC Fight Night 207 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She hit a skid in her professional career that saw her drop four in a row to notable opponents, including Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Virna Jandiroba, and a previous loss to Kowalkiewicz.
Following her latest defeat in June, Herrig announced her retirement from the sport. She hung up the gloves after over a decade with a record of 14-10. The former kickboxer announced her switch to bare-knuckle boxing shortly after as she signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
In an interview with TMZ, Herrig shared that she resorted to selling dirty socks for cash and photos of her feet on OnlyFans ahead of her return to competition.
“[OnlyFans] has made a huge difference. After my first knee surgery, I wouldn’t say I was broke but I had no money coming in. People don’t realize, you’re locked into this contract that you can’t get out of, but you’re not being paid to be in it.
“I’ve always had people who are obsessed with my feet. I’d just bought a house and was dipping into my money, but I thought people really love my feet so maybe I’ll start an OnlyFans. If you like feet, I’m your girl!
“I sell my socks. They want them used..or dirty. The more days I wear them the more they’ll have to pay for them.
“[A used pair of socks] cost $150.” (h/t The Sun)
Herrig Has Moved On From MMA
“Lil Bulldog” made her first appearance under the UFC banner against Heather Clark at “The Ultimate Fighter 20”. She cleared the bracket first round before losing in the quarterfinals to Randa Markos. Next, she matched up with Lisa Ellis, who she defeated in the season finale.
Herrig faced off against Paige VanZant in her promotional debut and lost by unanimous decision. The 37-year-old Illinois native racked up a four-fight win streak before reaching the tail end of her career.
During the same interview, she expanded on returning to striking-based competition.
“I started off as a kick-boxer..but to have a career you had to go to MMA. I was already a professional boxer when that happened. So I never loved MMA. I was always a striker, I had to get very good at grappling because I had to fight as a pro [straight away].
“Now it’s coming full circle. I get to go back to doing what I love.”
Herrig Credits Her OnlyFans Account for Not Rushing Back to Fighting
After suffering a knee injury, Herrig needed surgery that had her on the sidelines for almost two years. She set up an OnlyFans account to supplement her income during this period.
Given that she would not make any money when she would not fight, the platform gave her a source she could rely on and avoid rushing back to fighting.
In an appearance on “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Herrig said, “I probably would have come back a lot sooner from my injury if it wasn’t for OnlyFans, because I would have had to. I probably wouldn’t have been ready, and I was at least ready for this fight.
“Now with OnlyFans, I get paid weekly and I’m not struggling to get paid, and I can take care of my body the way a professional athlete needs to take care of their body.”
“OnlyFans made it where I’m not desperate to fight again,” she added. “I actually make more money from that than I ever made in fighting — and I make good money fighting.
“But when you break it down to the fact that you only get paid when you fight, it does make things stressful on you when you’re not getting paid to sit on the sidelines, when you’re not being helped out.” (h/t MMA Fighting)