Paige Vanzant Biography - Net Worth, Husband, Children | eBiographyPost (2024)

The MMA personality Paige VanZantlooks nothing like a fighter, but she sure fights like one. VanZantis ablonde beauty who couldraise eyebrows whenintroduced as an MMA fighter. In MMA, fighters are feared and judged based on their appearance, however, Paige is breaking thisstereotype.

With her growing popularity, many people must be curious about the sportswoman. Hence, keep up with us to learn everything we know about Miss VanZant's net worth, relationships, career, and family.

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Danced Her Way To UFC

VanZant was born Paige Michelle Slettenin Dundee, Oregon, onMarch 26, 1994, but was raised in Sherwood.Her parents,Steve Slettenand Rachel Sletten,owned a dance studio, so naturally, she grew up dancing and learning Ballet, Jazz, and HipHop. In addition, she also used to enjoy riding dirt bikes and fishing.

You might wonder how Paige got into MMA while her background is nothing related to what she is doing now. The credit goes toMr. Steve, as he was the onewho pushedhis daughtertoward her destiny. When the family moved to Nevada, Paigewas looking for a dance studio near her home but came across the gym run by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock.

SinceMr. Slettenwas a huge UFC fan, hepersuaded Paige to join thegym. She was initially skeptical,but with a little nudge from her father, she tried her hands and initially concentrated only on boxing before moving into full-fledged mixed martial arts. Paige was instantlycaptivatedand did a few amateur boxing matches as well.

In 2013, Dana White, the UFC's president, called VanZant personally and askedif she wanted tobe a part of the reality television show called The Ultimate Fighter. She ecstatically agreedandjoined the show tobecome oneof the 16 strawweight fighters competing for the UFC championship.This was howshe got into UFC despite having a very different start. It seems like your destiny always finds you, one way or another.

Was Raped, Bullied, And Even Considered Suicide

During her school years,Paigegot bullied to the point that led her to eat lunch,hiding in the bathroom stall. She has opened up about how MMA saved her life as she struggledmentally. In her freshman year,she was raped by fellow students after they got her drunk.But the rumors spread around that she had consensual sex with the boys and the students at her school started to bully her mercilessly.At one point, she even considered suicide.

The MMA fighter was also called names like "Paige slu*tton,"due to whichshechanged her last name legally to VanZant from Sletten. We can only imagine the hurt she must have gone through for her to change her surname. However, from her past experiences, she has more empathy towards those who getbullied and wants to advocate for anti-bullying using the platform and voice she has gained.

VanZant didn't choose MMA to get back to her bully, she just happened to love it. But in retrospect, we can find some connection. It could be the sense of confidence and protection she gotfrom fighting which led her to believeshe doesn't need someone else to protect her as she can do that on her own. This could be whyshe said that MMA saved her life and changed her life's direction. If it wasn't for how the sport made her feel, she would have chosen a different career.

All About Paige VanZant Career

Paige made her professional MMA debut on June 30, 2012, when she was just 19 years old, at UWF's Tournament of Warriors finale against Jordan Nicole Gaza, which she wonby split decision. She then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as one of thecast members ofThe Ultimate Fighter in 2013. However, on March 31, 2014, VanZant was dismissedfrom the reality series because the minimum age to compete init was21, whereas she was only 20.

Regardless, the Oregon native made her UFC debut against Kailin Curranin the strawweight division in August of the same year. In August 2017, VanZant was scheduled to compete against Jessica Eyeintheflyweight divisionbutwithdrewdue to a back injury.Eventually, Paige made herflyweight debut against Jessica Rose-Clarkin 2018 but lost via unanimous decision. Shebounced back in 2019 following her victory against Rachael Ostovich.

VanZantis currently signed as a wrestler to All Elite Wrestling and as a fighterto Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. In August 2020, the fighter signed a four-bout contract to fight exclusively in the BKFC, which was said to be worth more than $1 million. Talking about her BKFC fights, in July 2021, VanZant lost a match against Rachael Ostovichin BKFC 19 by unanimous decision.

The ex-UFC star is currently competing in BKFC, but that doesn't mean other promotions have stopped extending their offers. For instance, she was offered a free-agent contract by WWE after leaving UFC, which she denied.

READ MORE: Dicky Eklund Biography - Former Boxer And Micky Ward's Brother

Paige VanZant Net Worth And Earnings

Now that we have talked about her career, let's move on to Paige VanZant's net worth and earnings. As MMA is her main source of income, she has earned a significant amount from it up until now.Thetable below shows some of her earnings while competing in UFC.

Table Source: thesportsdaily/mmajunkie

VanZant also has a website for her merch. Some of the prices of her productsare in the table below:

Table Source: ShopPVZ.com

Paige also earns throughMonster Energy Drinks, Metro PCS, and Harley Davidson endorsem*nts. Moreover, VanZant had a modelingand acting careerprior to fighting and has been innational commercials as well. She was a child actorfor the Bissell steam mop adand also has modeled for athletic clothing brands, including Nike and Columbia Sportswear.

Not just that, the lady fighter has an OnlyFans account whose monthly subscription amounts to $9.99, and 12 months subscription bundle costs $95.9. Finally, the Oregon native has published a biography called Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life, where she talked about her life events, relationships, and lessons she learned. It was released on April 10, 2018, and is available for $24.99 in hardcover.These all are the secondary sources of her income that add up to her fortune.

Is Married To An MMA Fighter

The former UFC fighterhas found the man of her dreams and is happily married to Austin Vanderford. She met Vanderford,a professional MMA fighter, throughChael Sonnen. He was the wingman who instigated Paige and Austin's love story. During one of the local matches, Sonnen made VanZantand Vanderford sit next to each other. Later, Austin invitedPaige to eat together, and then the rest is history.

VanZant announced that she was dating Austinbyuploadinga picture of them with a caption saying, "Mine." Eventually, the couple got married on September 29, 2018,in a private and sophisticated wedding ceremony. Paige legallychanged her last name to Vanderford from VanZant afterward.

The couple celebrated their 4th marriage anniversary in 2022, and Paige posted a video compiling all the good times they shared together. Furthermore, Paige VanZant's husband also doesn't shy away from sharing how much he loves her. Also, the pair hasn't welcomed any children as of now. The BKFC competitor once shared that she would not have a kid until she is financially secure.

Nevertheless, we wish the couplelifetime of happiness and togetherness.

Overall, Paige has come a long way, from being bullied to headlining matches in the MMA. Her success is all thanks to hard work, determination, and support from her loved ones. Her story could be inspiring to those who have been bullied or are still being bullied, andwe all can learn something from VanZant's bravery and never giving up attitude.

Trivia And Facts

• Paige has 3.2 million Instagram followers.
• VanZant stands at 5' 4".
• She got the nickname 12 Gauge from her father.
• She revealed that she has a breast implant.

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