Sean Strickland hits out at Paige VanZant over adult content career

UFC's middleweight champion Sean Strickland has unleashed a scathing attack on Paige VanZant's UFC career and her decision to pursue adult modeling.

Strickland, a self-confessed "former neo-Nazi" unleashed a torrent of abuse at VanZant, saying: "Paige Vanzant said she made more on there in 24 hours than she did in the UFC. Let's unpack.

1. You were signed because you're hot.

2. Women's mma is lame.

3. Men will pay more to see you naked than to watch you fight."

Valentina Shevchenko, a former UFC women's flyweight champion responded to Strickland, saying: "Interesting unpack here. That looks more like an offended kid, who got less money in his entire fighter career than female fighters do!"

Shevchenko's response didn't go unnoticed, with Strickland firing back again, doubling down with his misogynistic opinions on women's MMA, saying: "LMAO female MMA. It's like watching children fight it's fun but we all know it's trash. You only have a job because you know when to put heels on and take off your clothes."

VanZant was not willing to let these attacks go, sharing a DM she had sent to Strickland saying, "Bro, your a champ now. You know you don't need to use my name anymore...if you need a little cash though let me know. I got you."

VanZant's career has certainly taken a pivot from her early years in MMA, so let's take a look at her story and how she ended up getting involved in adult content creation.

Aged only 29, VanZant has already lived one hell of a life, having dabbled in MMA, bare-knuckle boxing, professional wrestling, and cooking shows and now she is embarking on her newest venture in producing adult content.

Growing up in Oregon, VanZant was always trained in dance, but after moving to Nevada she was taught how to fight and made her MMA debut in 2012.

In 2013 VanZant signed to the UFC and made her debut a year or so later, facing Kailin Curran where she won via TKO in the 3rd round.

In 2015, Paige was signed to a big sponsorship deal with the brand Reebok, some were angered by this move given she only had one fight under her belt.

Around the same time as her Reebok deal, VanZant became a household name when she appeared on the celebrity ballroom dancing show, Dancing with the Stars.

Having previously been fighting in the strawweight division, VanZant moved into the flyweight division, now fighting at 125 lbs.

In January 2018, VanZant made her debut in the 125 lbs division, unfortunately, she lost her bout with Jessica-Rose Clark, breaking her arm in the process.

VanZant’s arm break wasn’t the only injury she suffered whilst a professional fighter, she also dealt with herniated discs, sinus infections and reinjurying the same arm.

After an up and down career in the flyweight division of the UFC, VanZant decided to call time on her UFC career after a defeat to Amanda Ribas in March, 2020.

After her MMA career ended, VanZant signed a contract worth over $1,000,000 to fight four bouts in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Over the course of 2021 and 2022, VanZant became involved in the upstart AEW promotion, which included attacking wrestling legend Chris Jericho.

In 2021, VanZant made the move into producing adult content, starting an exclusive service where fans can pay to see her raunchy snaps.

Photo: Instagram - Paige VanZant

Always popular in the UFC, VanZant’s page was an instant success as she started posting pictures for her fans.

Paige herself said her decision to create this content came about due to interest from fans, saying “Every time I check my social media, my fans are always asking me for more.”

Initially, VanZant was reluctant to participate in adult content, stating during a Q&A session,  “I’m not going to make [adult content] but if you really want to send me money and you appreciate the things I post on Instagram, you can Venmo me”.

Photo: Instagram - Paige VanZant

With an incredible following on Instagram, with over 3.7 million followers, it is no surprise her exclusive content is doing well, announcing she had hit over 1 million likes on her exclusive account in March 2023.

Photo: Instagram - Paige VanZant