Combat sports star Paige Van Zant said leaving the UFC was the best career choice she ever made (2024)

• Paige VanZant said leaving the UFC was the best career decision she could have made.
• The former MMA fighter is currently signed to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
• She also generates money through a subscription Only Fans-style website called Paige Fan Zant.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Combat sports star Paige VanZant said leaving the UFC has been the best career choice she ever made.

The 27-year-old fought as an MMA fighter from 2012 to 2020 and returned eight wins from 13 matches, including five in the market-leading MMA promotion UFC.

After a first-round submission loss to Amanda Ribas on Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, in July 2020, VanZant left the UFC, tested free agency, and stunned the combat sports industry by signing with upstart firm Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Speaking to MMA Fighting weeks before her July 23 bare knuckle clash against Rachael Ostovich, VanZant said her career was "built off the UFC."

It is a career that has seen her transcend mixed martial arts as she finished in second place in season 22 of Dancing with the Stars, earns money through sponsored Instagram posts, and even has a subscription website called Paige Fan Zant – a riff on OnlyFans.

VanZant told MMA Fighting that it was "nerve-wracking" to leave "the powerhouse of combat sports" in the prime of her career, as most leave the UFC as veterans.

"Since I've left, I've seen multiple fighters leave the UFC - and it's not a diss at the UFC necessarily, but I think it's more an awakening in fighters knowing there's money out there and we're going to be compensated for what we're doing."

Fox News reported last year that VanZant's BKFC contract is worth $1 million for four fights.

VanZant lost her bare knuckle debut to Britain Hart, but will be aiming to rebound against Ostovich. Hart fights on the same card, and should both athletes win, a rematch could be made.

Though VanZant fought for six years as a UFC competitor, it is only this last 12 months where she said she is finally reaping the financial rewards of that experience.

"I was in the UFC for six years, I've been fighting for eight years and it's finally paying off," she said. "This year finally paid off to where I'm feeling comfortable with my life."

Her subscription website, where she posts content for fans, has become a primary earner, she added.

"I will say when I signed with BKFC, the bare-knuckle boxing, I was making more money than I had made in my entire UFC career.

"Now, I'm making more money than my entire BKFC contract in like a month," VanZant said. "It's pretty crazy."

VanZant fights Ostovich at BKFC 19 at a to-be-determined location.

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