UFC Star Wants Pay Raise, Claims She's Making More Money Posting On Instagram

A UFC fan-favorite wants to have a pay raise and claimed that she makes more money posting pictures on Instagram.

Paige VanZant has always been a UFC star her entire career, but with her looks, she also took the opportunity to make a name for herself outside the MMA. So far, VanZant has found success as a celebrity following her Sports Illustrated and "Dancing With The Stars" appearances.

All told, the UFC hottie is expected to receive a huge contract from the UFC given her popularity even outside the cage. However, it seems like the promotion can’t match VanZant’s price.

In an exclusive interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, VanZant opened up about the issue of money. According to VanZant, her latest contract with the UFC did not meet her expectations. In fact, VanZant even claimed that she makes more money posting pictures on Instagram than fighting in UFC.

“I make way more money sitting at home, posting pictures on Instagram, than I do fighting,” VanZant revealed.

“When I did my contract negotiation the last time, the talk was, “I can’t pay you more than a female champion.’ Okay, but why are comparing me to just women? All of us should be getting paid more in general,” VanZant added.

On the same interview, the former "Dancing With The Stars" participant finally admitted that she has been opting for a significant increase in her pay as an MMA fighter for the UFC. VanZant is confident that all her accomplishments within the promotion alone makes her deserving of a pay raise.

“I want a significant pay raise, to be completely honest. I’ve just been extremely accomplished outside of the UFC, as well as inside of the UFC. Five wins in the UFC, four finishes, I've been main event twice, and I think someone with those accolades should be paid more,” VanZant pointed out.

Last June, VanZant stated that she is already “popular” outside MMA, and from her perspective, she deserves a final fight in the promotion before figuring things out in her career.

“Even though I’m so popular, I guess, I’ve been doing amazing things outside the UFC—Sports Illustrated, Dancing with the Stars, all these amazing things. I want to show, ‘Hey, I’m a huge player in this division. I’m a huge player in the UFC.’ And I think it’s going to take one more fight to do that,” VanZant explained.

VanZant has just recovered from an arm injury in the past. Now that she insists that the UFC should pay her more, her anticipated return could be uncertain.