Paige VanZant speaks out on UFC fighters pay issue - "I can make way more money just by promoting brands on Instagram" 

UFC women’s flyweight Paige VanZant has spoken out on the issue of fighters pay within the organization and criticized the UFC, claiming she can make more money by promoting brands on her Instagram instead of stepping inside the Octagon.

Paige VanZant last fought in January 2019, when she submitted Rachael Ostovich at UFC on ESPN+ 1. After 18 months out of action, Paige VanZant will finally make her much-awaited return to the Octagon in July when she squares off against Amanda Ribas in the main card opener at UFC 251, the first of four scheduled UFC Fight Island events set to take place at the Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The fight is the last one on VanZant’s current UFC contract and she is expected to become a free agent after the bout.

In an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Paige VanZant opened up on the issue of fighters pay and criticized the UFC for underpaying its fighters by saying that she can easily make more money outside the octagon than inside of it. She questioned why she'd risk injuring herself and pushing her body to the limit to fight if she can make more money without doing all of that.

“Everyone knows how much I make. I make $46,000 to fight. $46,000 to show and $46,000 to win. I’m not going to hide than because everybody knows. I can make way more money than that just promoting brands on Instagram. That should say something. Why would I step away from all the amazing success I had on Dancing with the Stars? I made more money on Dancing with the Stars than I have in my entire UFC career combined. Every fight, every win, every bonus. And it just shows that the money is out there."

VanZant also revealed that she is completely focused on winning her fight with Ribas, so much so that she has cut out all of her sponsors for this fight. Paige VanZant is excited to return after one-and-half-years and prove herself to the world once again.

Heading into the final fight of her current contract, @paigevanzant is looking to prove her value at #UFC251(via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/t0NnW7ObRl

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 24, 2020

“I love fighting, it’s what I love to do. And for this fight I dropped every single sponsor, I haven’t posted anything on Instagram. Nothing matters to me except for this fight. It’s a clean slate for me. I’m not promoting any sponsors. I have nothing. I’m just excited to go out there and prove my value to absolutely everybody, and I think fighting is how I do that,”