PAIGE VANZANT hasn't fought in over two-and-a-half years - and she has OnlyFans to thank for keeping her lights on.
The former UFC straw and flyweight was last in action in an ill-fated bare-knuckle boxing rematch with fellow MMA fighter Rachael Ostovich in July 2021.
VanZant was set to try to pick up her first win in BKFC last August against Charisa Sigala in London but their fight ended up being cancelled.
Two-and-a-half years without a purse would leave most fighters in dire straits, but not OnlyFans content creator VanZant - who has raked in the cash selling racy snaps and videos on the platform and her members-only website.
She told MMA Fighting: “I feel like I am in a position where I’m just having fun working out and training right now.
Kylie Jenner goes braless in mesh catsuit for new snaps on New Year's Eve
“I’m going back to when I first started.
"I want to find that spark and that passion again to where I’m not fighting to make the president of the company happy, I’m not fighting for sponsors.
"I’m not fighting for my family, to help them out, to get them out of dark times.
“I’m in a great place where I can do all these things that I actually set out to do."
VanZant, 29, hasn't just used earnings over the last two years to keep herself afloat.
She said: "I can help my family. I can do these things, but I don’t have to fight for that to be possible.
FREE BETS - BEST BETTING OFFERS & NEW CUSTOMER BONUSES
"Now it’s like I get to choose when I fight. It’s really nice.”
Raking in the cash while not getting punched in the face would persuade most fighters to hang up their gloves.
VanZant, however, still has that competitive fire burning deep inside her and plans to return to the BKFC ring in the near future.
Stacey Solomon says her life a 'mess' as she makes New Year's resolution
“It’s definitely bare-knuckle, and I don’t know if it’s down the road in six months, she admitted. "I don’t know if it’s down the road a year.
“I really just haven’t decided yet.
"I’m going to leave a lot of that up to my manager and my coaches.
"Just work on this time to get better and enjoy the training and not worry about signing a fight contract right away. But it’s definitely bare-knuckle.
“I love bare-knuckle boxing. I’ve now gone 10 rounds in bare-knuckle boxing and I’m searching for that victory.
"I’m searching for a lot of things in bare-knuckle boxing that I haven’t accomplished, and it will be with BKFC again.”
