Paige Vanzant Drops The Receipts — Answers Critics Who Say She 'Ruined' Her Career

Paige VanZant posts receipts and keeps her cool

Paige VanZant isn’t losing sleep over people who say she “ruined” her career – and she made a point of showing why. On Tuesday, Sept. 1, the combat sports star shared a TikTok carousel that ran through the biggest milestones of her career, a playfully confident reminder that her accomplishments speak for themselves.

The first slide spotlighted a major early achievement: VanZant climbed to No. 6 in the UFC women’s strawweight rankings in September 2015. She’d made her Octagon debut less than a year earlier at age 20, stopping Kailin Curran in the third round in a fight that earned both competitors Fight of the Night honors.

“My career isn’t defined by one chapter — it’s built from every win, every pivot and every opportunity I’ve taken,” VanZant wrote alongside her highlights, a reminder that her timeline tells the real story.

From UFC highs to bare-knuckle business

UFC breakthrough and early spotlight

VanZant’s rise in MMA was swift and public. Breaking into the UFC ranks and reaching a top-10 spot so early in her career cemented her as a notable young talent in the sport, and the Fight of the Night against Kailin Curran remains part of that foundation.

That early success set the stage for the many directions her career would take next — and for the critics who would later question those choices.

BKFC deal and KnuckleMania headline

After leaving the UFC, VanZant pivoted to bare-knuckle boxing, signing a four-fight BKFC deal in 2020 reported to be worth more than $1 million. She headlined KnuckleMania in February and fought twice for the promotion, a move she said at the time pushed back against the “pretty face” stigma some attached to her.

In her own words to ESPN then, she made it clear she didn’t consider herself just a look — she wanted to prove what she could do inside the ring.

TV, the big stage and a few more surprising turns

Dancing With the Stars run

VanZant showed she could shine outside combat sports, too. She competed on Dancing With the Stars with partner Mark Ballas and made it all the way to the Season 22 finale in 2016. The duo posted the highest score on the first night of the finale with a combined 59 out of 60 points across two routines, ultimately finishing runner-up to Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd.

The performance proved she was game for new challenges — and good at them.

AEW debut and Power Slap record

She didn’t stop there. VanZant made her in-ring debut for AEW in a six-person tag match at Double or Nothing in 2022, expanding her on-screen persona into pro wrestling. Then she added Power Slap to her competitive résumé, compiling a 2-0-1 record in the slap format.

These detours underline the point of her TikTok post — her career has been eclectic by design, not by accident.

Modeling, memoir and media moments

The TikTok’s final slides left competition behind and celebrated other high-profile work. VanZant’s December 2025 Playboy Sweden cover, her 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit shoot in Puerto Vallarta and her 2018 memoir Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life all made the cut.

She captioned the carousel, “Just a reminder... Should I keep going?” The internet’s answer was a resounding yes — fans chimed in with praise, calling her “super successful,” “the coolest chick alive” and “my favorite.”

OnlyFans, criticism and where the money came from

VanZant didn’t name a specific critic in the post, but outlets such as Bloody Elbow framed the carousel as a response to backlash over her OnlyFans move. The platform has become one of the most lucrative chapters of her post-UFC career, and she’s been candid about its financial impact.

On Barstool Sports’ Only Stans in 2023, VanZant said she made more in a single day on OnlyFans than she had during her entire fighting career combined — a striking statement about how athletes can monetize new opportunities.

She’s far from alone in that shift. Olympians and other athletes have turned to subscription platforms for income, including Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman, British diver Jack Laugher and German bobsledder Lisa Buckwitz, who said subscription earnings helped fund her run at the Milan Games this year.

Fans rallied — and the receipts stayed up

The reaction to VanZant’s TikTok was overwhelmingly supportive. Fans flooded the comments with endorsements and encouragement, turning the post into a reminder that a résumé can be louder than criticism.

Whether you love her for her fighting, her TV moments, modeling gigs or business savvy, VanZant’s post made one thing clear — she’s proud of every chapter, and she’s not apologizing for how she chose to write them.