Paige VanZant Makes More Money On Instagram Than She Does Fighting In UFC
Paige VanZant appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show today where she became the latest UFC star to complain about money and the latest female athlete to address the gender pay gap. VanZant revealed that she makes more money sitting home on Instagram than fighting.
“I make way more money sitting at home, posting pictures on Instagram, than I do fighting.”@paigevanzant says her endorsement earnings greatly outpace her fight earnings (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/dpdANFcbxU
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 26, 2019
VanZant has one fight left on her contract and it doesn’t sound like negotiations have been promising. In the UFC’s defense, VanZant has only fought twice since 2016, going 1-2 in her last three bouts. However, VanZant was a finalist on Dancing With The Stars and is one of the sports most high-profile faces. If the UFC doesn’t want to pay VanZant what she’s worth, they better make some new stars and then pay them enough to fight.
“I really want to prove what I’m worth and what my value is.”@paigevanzant confirms she has one fight left on her UFC deal and will fight out her contract (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/gLCLtJ7yEh
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 26, 2019
As far as social media goes, she has 2.2 million followers to promote various supplements and lifestyle choices.
Nevertheless, VanZant could conceivably be a draw for Bellator, so it’s plausible that despite her recent losses she could still have some leverage when her deal is up.