FORMER UFC star Paige VanZant claims she’s making more money from her members-only website than she did fighting in the UFC.
VanZant set up her own fansite, which she aptly called PaigeFanZant.com, last February as an additional source of income.
The site has proven to be a huge hit, so much so her earnings from it have eclipsed her UFC paydays and her lucrative deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
The 27-year-old said: “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. It’s pretty crazy.”
VanZant has no immediate plans to call time on her days as a fighter but feels financially stable enough to longer compete.
She said: “I don’t have to, when I’m done fighting, get a regular job and have to go back to work.
““I’m not planning for when I retire to go to college or try to figure out what’s next in my life.
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“I’m able to just fight and save money and plan when I want to retire, I can just retire.”
VanZant was initially hesitant about going through with the money-spinning endeavour, saying: “There was always this back and forth. There’s two sides of it.
“I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I would lose business opportunities based on having an exclusive content site, but I feel like I’m already seen as a sex symbol in the sports world.
“I might as well have the monetization behind it. I wanted to do it on my own terms. So I actually joined Fan Time, it’s a separate company.
“I’m not with OnlyFans. It’s PaigeFanZant.com and it’s my own website and I have a lot of control over what goes on there. It’s basically me doing exclusive things. I’m proud to say I’m part of it.
“I work hard for my body. I work hard for who I am, and there’s a side of me that’s extremely girly and feminine, and I get to share that on my fan site. Now I think it’s becoming a lot more acceptable.
“Before, the OnlyFans was seen more for just like porn stars. It was a little bit more X-rated, just the view from the public.
“Not saying that’s actually what people have on there, but I wanted to do it my own way.
“I wanted to do it professionally and have my own website and that’s what I’ve done.”
VanZant may be earning megabucks from her titillating content. but that hasn’t quenched her competitive thirst.
The former UFC flyweight will be back in action on July 23 at BKFC 19, rematching former rival Rachael Ostovich.
The American Top Team star lost her BKFC debut in February, suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Britain Hart at BKFC Knucklemania.
