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Despite winning eight of her last 12 professional fights in MMA, UFC star Paige VanZant has discovered that she can earn more money from her popular Instagram account than stepping into the octagon. However, because her heart lies in the ring and not on Instagram, she's spoken out about why this needs to change.
VanZant has now hit out at organizers of the sport for its the lack of equal pay between their male and female fighters,
reports. Explaining that she needs to get a significant pay rise before signing again.
[post_page_title]She Nearly Became A Dancer[/post_page_title]
Indeed, the professional fighter, 25, very nearly took on a more typically female profession as a young girl and had planned to enroll in a dance studio in Nevada.
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However, as fate would have it, she stepped into
's gym instead. There, she learned the martial arts and boxing that would lay the basis for her future career.
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[post_page_title]Her UFC Career[/post_page_title]
Paige won her first amateur fight at the age of 18 and following this, made her professional debut in 2012 at the UWF's
Tournament of Warriors
finale against Jordan Nicole Gaza in Corpus Christi, Texas. She went onto win this fight by a split decision but won her next match against Amber Stautzenberger by a unanimous decision.
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Then, in December 2013, she along with 10 other women were signed to the UFC's
Strawweight division. She was also cast in
The Ultimate Fighter
(UFC), a television reality series, but couldn't take part because she was only 20 and there would be alcohol present. Since then, her career has gone from strength to strength, but since 2016, it has been wracked by injuries.
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[post_page_title]The Gender Pay Gap[/post_page_title]
Now, the 25-year-old American recently spoke out about the gender pay gap within her sport in a revealing interview on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show. Paige said:
"I make way more money sitting at home, posting pictures on Instagram than I do fighting."
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"When I did my contract negotiation the last time, the talk was, 'I can't pay you more than a female champion,'" she revealed.
"Okay, but why are comparing me to just women? All of us should be getting paid more in general."
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[post_page_title]A Pay Rise[/post_page_title]
VanZant was also quick to point out that she has main evented twice in the UFC, and currently holds a 5-3 win-loss record with the organization.
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She continued:
"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."
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[post_page_title]She's Achieved A Lot[/post_page_title]
As if her sporting achievements weren't impressive enough already, the 25-year-old has also won a significant number of fans through pursuits out of the ring.
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"When I fought
Michelle Waterson, we had some of the highest views on Fox... I feel like coming off of 'Dancing With the Stars,' with the fan base I've built up, my book tour, I've just been extremely accomplished outside of the UFC, as well as in the UFC," she said.
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[post_page_title]Focusing On The UFC Would Make Her A Loss[/post_page_title]
"The hard thing for me to put into perspective is, with endorsements, I make way more money sitting at home posting pictures on Instagram than I do fighting," Paige said.
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"With endorsement deals and everything I pull in from social media, I would actually be at a loss taking a fight and focusing [on the UFC] ... by a long shot," she said.
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[post_page_title]Her Injury[/post_page_title]
VanZant is currently out-of-action
after breaking her arm earlier this year - it is the third time she has broken her arm.
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While recovering from her injury, she has launched a YouTube channel with her husband, MMA fighter Austin Vanderford, called
[post_page_title]Her Sultry Snaps[/post_page_title]
The brawler Oregon-born star also shares several sultry pictures with her 2.3 million Instagram followers.
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These include a selection of snaps from her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photoshoot and the time she sunbathed in her underwear after forgetting bikinis.
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[post_page_title]Her Heart's In The Ring[/post_page_title]
But despite being able to make such comparatively easy money on social media, Paige has made it clear that her heart lies in the ring, and in reference to her injury said:
"Having fighting taken away from me for so long has been awful."
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"To have that last win, I felt like it was just a tease," she said. "I had my foot in the water, got to fight one time, and then to have it taken away from me again - to go from injury to injury to injury - I think it has reminded me how much I love this."
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[post_page_title]She's Her Own Boss[/post_page_title]
In fact, Paige is so fed up with the issues surrounding pay that she has opted to run her contract down to become a free agent, in order to see what her true value is.
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Following Paige's revelation, is it time the UFC started paying their female stars the same as their male stars? Well, this is what Ronda Rousey had to say about the pay gap in the sport.
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[post_page_title]Ronda Rousey's Two Cents[/post_page_title]
It was an issue that was once put forward to former UFC champion-turned WWE Superstar, Ronda Rousey, who defended the gender pay gap in a 2015 conference:
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"I think that how much you get paid should have something to do with how much you bring in," she said. "I'm the highest-paid fighter not because Dana and Lorenzo wanted to do something nice for the ladies. They do it because I bring in the highest numbers. Because I make them the most money. So I think the money that they make should be proportionate to the money they bring in."
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[post_page_title]Ronda Thinks She Will Earn More Eventually[/post_page_title]
Despite earning considerably less than her male counterparts like Floyd Mayweather, Ronda remains unbothered and is confident that her salary will increase as she progresses in her career.
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"I don't like to talk about exactly how much money I make, but I'm very comfortable and happy," she said.
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[post_page_title]She Has To Put More Time In[/post_page_title]
As far as the 32-year-old is concerned, the reason she doesn't make as much as big male names in the industry is because she doesn't have as many accolades to her name.
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"If I got to a point where I had almost 50 fights, I would probably be making close to the same amount of money as Floyd does, but at this point, I have 11, so I can't expect it to be exactly equal yet, I don't think. I have to put more time in," she explained.
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[post_page_title]The Pay Gap Outside The UFC[/post_page_title]
However, it's not just the UFC that's come under fire for the pay gap between men and women.
In June, the female US soccer team broke a World Cup record after defeating Thailand 13-0. Their performance was dubbed "The most lopsided victory in World Cup history" by The Washington Post, given that star player, Alex Morgan, scored five goals, and Rose Lavelle and Samantha Mewis both scored two points each.
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Because of the nature of their triumph, people took to social media to lament the fact that these women aren't being paid as much as their male counterparts.
[post_page_title]The Question Of Performance[/post_page_title]
After this victory, it was rightfully pointed out that in terms of performance, the women's team was leagues ahead of the men's, but this is something which hasn't been reflected in their paycheques.
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"What's the pay gap between men's and women's US soccer? Cause let's just say if it's performance-based these ladies better be making way more than the boys, and somehow I suspect that might not be the case," wrote NBC News White House correspondent Kasie Hunt on Twitter.
[post_page_title]It's Not About Revenue[/post_page_title]
Hunt acknowledged that some people might argue that the pay gap was the result of revenue, not gender, then immediately shut this point down.
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"Also anyone trying to explain to me this is revenue-based I would love to know how much revenue the men’s team generated in their 2018 World Cup oh wait," she wrote.
[post_page_title]The Women's Team Outperformed The Men's In Every Way[/post_page_title]
Hunt's points about the women's soccer team were further corroborated by journalist Richard Deitsch.
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"The USWNT have scored more goals today against Thailand than the U.S. men scored in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups," he wrote.
[post_page_title]The Lawsuit[/post_page_title]
So, in March of this year, the USWNT filed a federal suit against the United States Soccer Federation, referencing "purposeful gender discrimination."
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A statement written by the team's defender, Becky Sauerbrunn, asserted, "It is wrong for us to be paid and valued less for our work because of our gender."
[post_page_title]Its Details[/post_page_title]
Per the lawsuit, a comparison of the women's and men's national teams found that if each team played and won 20 exhibition games in a year.
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"It’s about implementation. Equal pay and a place at the table are the central tenets of feminism. Look at your quotas. Ask what women are being paid, and say: ‘If she’s not paid the same as the men, I’m not doing it.’"
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It revealed: "Female WNT players would earn a maximum of $99,000 or $4,950 per game, while similarly situated male MNT players would earn an average of $263,320 or $13,166 per game."
[post_page_title]Men Are Fighting For Change Too[/post_page_title]
Thankfully, however, it's not just women who have objected to the continued existence of pay gaps. In the entertainment industry, for example, Benedict Cumberbatch refuses to work on projects where women don't receive equal pay.
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In an interview with Radio Times, he said he won't take a role unless his female co-stars get equal pay:
"It’s about implementation. Equal pay and a place at the table are the central tenets of feminism. Look at your quotas. Ask what women are being paid, and say: ‘If she’s not paid the same as the men, I’m not doing it.’"
[post_page_title]SunnnyMarch[/post_page_title]
What's more, the actor has started the production company SunnyMarch, with producer Adam Ackland. Benedict said they plan to focus on female-centric projects, to ensure that a greater diversity of stories hit the big screen.
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"I'm proud that [friend and business partner] Adam and I are the only men in our production company; our next project is a female story with a female lens about motherhood, in a time of environmental disaster," he said.
[post_page_title]It's About Creating A Platform[/post_page_title]
"If it's centered around my name, to get investors, then we can use that attention for a raft of female projects. Half the audience is female. And, in terms of diversity, Black Panther is now the third most successful film of all time," he said.
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"The audience is there! It's about facilitating platforms for talent," the actor explained. "If you do that, the combination is combustible - world-beating. That's what we want to do."
[post_page_title]Benedict Would Play An Objectified Man To Make A Point[/post_page_title]
Over the years, we've seen a lot of movies where women are relegated to secondary roles, where they're more a piece of eye candy than a fully fleshed-out character.
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Benedict told Radio Times that he'd be down to play a gender-swapped version of that, an "objectified man-totty" in a female-centric movie.
[post_page_title]It's Been Done Before[/post_page_title]
"If it's good enough for Chris Pine [in 'Wonder Woman'], it's good enough for Benedict Cumberbatch!" joked the actor.
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"Yeah! Definitely… with sexy screaming saxophone music in the background? Ha-ha-ha, yes! So long as it was fun. I'd have to be in good shape, though. Prepare."
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[post_page_title]In All Seriousness[/post_page_title]
It doesn't matter whether you're a UFC fighter, soccer player or actor, if you're a woman living in the US, your income will be an estimated 78% to 82% of that of an average man's,
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For a society that claims to be enlightened, whether there is no known difference between the capabilities of the sexes, this simply isn't on, and that's why it's so important that people like
