After six years and nine fights with the UFC, Paige VanZant chose to leave the promotion, sign with BKFC for bare-knuckle fighting, and launch her own OnlyFans page, decisions that she says have rekindled her passion for fighting and brought her financial freedom.
Paige VanZant, a former UFC fighter, knew it was time for a change. She’d been with the UFC since her teenage years, but after nine fights and over six years, she was ready for something new.
In 2020, smack in the middle of the pandemic, she had her last fight at UFC 251. It was the final bout on her contract. She lost to Amanda Ribas by submission, but the UFC still wanted her.
She hit free agency and got an offer to return to the UFC. It would’ve been the easy choice. But she felt it was time to shake things up.
“Re-signing with the UFC would’ve been safe, but I wasn’t happy,” VanZant shared with MMA Fighting. “I needed a change. I signed with the UFC when I was 19. I had my first fight when I was 20. I needed something different. I needed to reignite my passion.”
Looking back, she realized she was ready to leave the UFC. When they offered to re-sign her, she had already moved on. That chapter of her life was closed.
She started getting offers right away. But she shocked everyone by signing with BKFC. At the time, bare-knuckle fighting was only legal in a few states and was still struggling for mainstream recognition.
The BKFC contract wasn’t just about the money, though that was a nice perk. VanZant wanted a different kind of challenge, and bare-knuckle gave her that.
“Making the transition to BKFC, I’m really happy I did it,” VanZant said. “I feel accomplished. I went 10 rounds with some really tough people. Anyone who steps into bare-knuckle boxing deserves a round of applause. It’s violent, brutal, and feels different.”
At the same time, she launched her own website and joined OnlyFans. It paid off big time. She made more money in one day from OnlyFans than she did in her entire UFC career.
Not everyone was thrilled with her move, though.
“I love my body, I love being sexy, it’s part of who I am, should I do this?” VanZant pondered. “I had managers who were like, ‘No, you’ll lose all your sponsors and no one will want to work with you.'”
She split from her old management team and signed with new representation. This time, the response was different.
“I signed with First Round Management, Malki Kawa, and he was all for it,” VanZant said. “He saw a business mindset that others didn’t.”
She launched her OnlyFans page right before her first BKFC fight. She was in the car on the way back from the press conference when she logged in and saw her subscribers skyrocketing.
“I had 52,000 subscribers at one point,” she said. “Our lives just changed forever. All the risks were worth it. If I never work with another sponsor again, we’re going to be fine.”
Since launching her OnlyFans page, VanZant has enjoyed financial freedom. She has no regrets about the decision she made three years ago. Now, she only has to depend on herself to make money.
“I don’t have sponsors – I don’t have to,” VanZant said. “I’m building my own company, promoting myself. I’m just building me and myself, and sharing things that I’m passionate about. No one’s paying me to say anything. It all comes straight from the source.”
As for fighting, VanZant plans to return to BKFC for at least one more fight, but there’s no timeline. Bare-knuckle remains her focus, but she’s considering another MMA fight in the future.
“If I were to do MMA again, it would definitely be with the PFL,” VanZant said. “I love the way they treat everybody. Their organization is incredible. I’ve been loving doing commentary work for them and doing behind the scenes. If I were going to do MMA it would be with PFL.”