'I thought we were closer': Free agent Paige VanZant signals frustration at UFC boss Dana White over 'uncomfortable' situation

Paige VanZant admits she is unsure of her next step in mixed martial arts after the 26-year-old suffered a loss to Amanda Ribas in what was the final fight of her UFC contract at last weekend's UFC 251 on 'Fight Island'.

VanZant, whose status as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and former contestant on 'Dancing with the Stars' arguably outstrips that of her fighting career, was defeated by first-round armbar submission by Ribas to mark her third defeat in her final four fights with the UFC - and with her contract now expired, the 26-year-old finds herself at a crossroads. 

Speaking after the fight, UFC president Dana White encouraged VanZant to explore the free agency market to pursue the best deal available to her, heavily implying that she won't find it on his watch.

"I didn’t know if that was my last UFC fight with me being on the last fight on my contract. I don’t know if the UFC’s going to re-sign me," VanZant told MMA Fighting. 

"It’s still up in the air and we’ll see what happens if I end up going to a different promotion that I feel values me a little bit higher. We just don’t know. It was really emotional."

VanZant's star outside of the cage means that she will be a hot commodity for whoever ends up offering her a contract. This is something she says that the UFC are fully aware of, and that the matchmaking for her last fight was designed to squeeze every last bit of value from her.

"This is the exact fight the UFC wanted," VanZant explained. "They kind of do this to people when they’re on the last fight on their contract. They give them, like, the perfect style matchup. I went against somebody, she’s 10-1, I’ve almost had layoffs, calculating like three years I’ve only been able to fight once cause I keep getting injured.

"Obviously, it was the very toughest opponent they could give me for my one returning fight I had left. I didn’t play into what the UFC wanted. Of course, I still had confidence going into it. Amanda was so talented. I’m so excited to see where her career goes."

Never one to stray from the party line, UFC president Dana White jumped on the Amanda Ribas train afterwards and effusively praised her for "smoking" VanZant in their fight - words which came as a surprise to her.

"It’s unfortunate because I feel like I have a really good relationship with Dana," she said. 

"I feel like I thought we were closer friends and he could text me or call me. Something to have a little bit of compassion, something to communicate with me personally but maybe he will. We just don’t know. I’m sure it’s an uncomfortable situation.

"Dana’s comments, what I’m hearing you say, he wants me to test free agency then hopefully they just let me go then. If that’s how they feel, then they’ll just let me be free."

VanZant had been vocal in recent months about the topic of fighter pay in the UFC, adding her voice to an ever-widening chorus of fighters who take aim at the company's payment model. In her case, she says that she makes far more money from Instagram endorsements than she does in the world's largest mixed martial arts promotion. 

"Transparently, I lost this fight obviously. I made $46,000 this fight. I haven’t fought in 18 months. So I’ve made $46,000 in 18 months being [what] people have said is a UFC star. I just feel like there’s more out there for me.

"I’ve always said I could do anything I wanted in life. I went to college when I was 16. I’ve done TV work. I’ve auditioned for all kinds of stuff but I want to fight. At the same breath, it has to be worth it. Because I am hurting myself and damaging myself for this sport."

For now, a move to Bellator (where her husband Austin Vanderford competes) seems like the logical next move, but moreover VanZant says she simply wants to feel valued.

"Honestly for me and that’s something I want to go into negotiations, whoever it’s with, I want to know that they want me to be part of their family," VanZant said. "I want to work for them.

"I ultimately want to be part of the family."