Paige VanZant has earned a huge amount of money for selling her first ‘kiss card’ to a fan.
Last night the former UFC star confirmed the personal memorabilia has been sold following a public bidding war.
VanZant, 28, took to Twitter to thank her fans for taking part in the online auction.
She wrote: “Officially sold!!! Thank you so much to everyone who bid. I had so much fun doing this with my fans. Of course this is the one and only kiss card, but if you like football and sport memorabilia check out ebay.com/usr/vanderfordcards.”
The American MMA fighter – who has a professional record of 8-5 – will earn roughly £12,000 for essentially giving a piece of card a kiss with red lipstick.
According to TMZ, she received over 100 bids in total – with the winner bidding an incredible $13,200 for her signature.
The world has officially gone mad.
That may sound like an awful lot of money, but it is dwarfed by what she earns in comparison for posting revealing snaps online.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, VanZant revealed the level of income she receives from social media.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, she said: “I make way more money sitting at home, posting pictures on Instagram, than I do fighting.
“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.
“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 left the UFC after losing to Amanda Ribas in 2020.
Despite her husband Austin competing for Bellator, she subsequently signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
However, it’s fair to say that it hasn’t exactly gone according to plan for either party.
VanZant’s last fight came against Rachael Ostovich in July 2021.
She suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of her fellow American, losing a wide unanimous decision on the scorecards to leave her future uncertain.
VanZant has since stayed active in the world of combat sports after serving as a guest judge for PFL.
