Paige van Zant said fighting in the UFC is fun, but she could have just worked a regular job and gotten paid the same
- UFC star Paige van Zant has used her pre-fight platform ahead of her "Fight Island" bout against Amanda Ribas to try and bring awareness to fighter pay.
- It is not the first time the American flyweight has said fighters should be paid more, and said last year she gets more money posting sponsored photographs on Instagram than she did her whole career.
- "That's awesome," the UFC president Dana White said at the time. "Listen, if a fighter can make more money doing other things, good for her."
- This week, van Zant said if she and her colleagues are "walking into the cage and bleeding" then they should be paid more than they would working regular jobs.
FIGHT ISLAND — Fighting in the UFC is "fun" for Paige van Zant but the American flyweight said she could have worked a regular job the last six years, and still gotten paid the same.
Her comments come at a time when an increasing number of UFC athletes are speaking publicly about remuneration as fighters in the world's premier mixed martial arts organization.
"I feel like more than ever, especially with me hurting myself, that if I'm going to be a professional fighter, I need it to be worth it for me," van Zant told MMA Fighting this week, ahead of her UFC 251 bout against Amanda Ribas on "Fight Island," which is Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Van Zant said the pay has to reflect the injuries she has gotten over the years, "walking into the cage and bleeding and sacrificing."
She told the MMA website: "I've added up all the money I've made in the UFC over six years, and I could have just had a regular job with the same pay."
Van Zant has elevated her profile beyond MMA
She finished second place in the 2016 edition of "Dancing with the Stars," published a biography called "Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life" in 2018, and has an additional income stream on Instagram.
While in quarantine at the UFC hotel in Abu Dhabi, van Zant posted an adorable video in which she danced alongside her partner and fellow fighter Austin Vanderford.
The combat sports power couple are also known for their nudity, and van Zant once posted nine nude photographs in a row on the app.
Van Zant even said last year that she earns more money from her Instagram account than she does from fighting.
The 26-year-old has endorsed a variety of products on her social media channel, and said in 2019 she earned $475,000 from those commercial agreements.
"All of us should be paid more in general, especially women and especially based on your star power," she said on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show.
"That's awesome," the UFC president Dana White said last year. "Listen, if a fighter can make more money doing other things, good for her."
Van Zant's recent comments come in the wake of disagreements high-profile athletes like Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and Jorge Masvidal have had with the UFC, though Masvidal appears to have smoothed his relationship with the firm to fight this weekend, even signing a new, multi-fight contract.
Speaking generally about pay complaints last month, White said that fighters are "independent contractors" and have freedoms in their career choices, MMA Fighting reported at the time.
"These guys can do whatever they want," said White. "They can say whatever they want. I had a big thing the other day with a reporter about fighter pay. They can come out and tell you what they make any day of the week. They can do any of that stuff. These guys can do whatever they want. They don't have to fight."
To MMA Fighting this week, van Zant said that she is not critical of the UFC, that she has fun in the company and is grateful for the platform, but that she would like to find her true value in the marketplace when her contract is up after this weekend and she can test free agency.
"I love the UFC. I love fighting for them," she said. "They've given me so many opportunities but I'm trying to set up a future for myself.
"I'm not saying I deserve more than any other UFC fighter. I think we all deserve more. We all deserve to be paid more."
Regardless of whether she engages with a different US-based MMA firm like Bellator MMA or the Professional Fighters League in free agency, van Zant remains hopeful that winning in style at "Fight Island" this weekend can be the driver which gets her the contract she is looking for.
"This is the last fight on my UFC contract and I want to be able to go to the UFC and be like 'Listen, this is how good I am … Ultimately I'm a good fighter.'
"I think this is a fight if I beat Amanda, it will prove that."
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