‘A birthday gift’: Ex-UFC ace Paige VanZant asks fans to pay for pics as she turns 27 by watching MMA lover have his face stitched

UFC fighter-turned-bare-knuckle-brawler Paige VanZant has had an unusual 27th birthday – watching her fighter husband have surgery on his face after inviting fans to pay for new photos and a video on her fansite and buy her gifts.

The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) newcomer had a relatively demure start to her special day, directing admirers to her fansite after providing a preview snap from a typically skin-baring photo session in lingerie the previous day.

Instagram sensation VanZant described the shoot as a "birthday gift from me to you" and promoted the site, which charges $9.99 to see her exclusive content, while telling her following of more than 2.8 million that they could peruse a wishlist if they wanted to send her presents.

She later promised that she wold be "sending my wildest video yet" to subscribers and thanked those who had bought her "amazing" gifts, gushing: "I feel so loved."

Fans used to the UFC departee's usual glossy insights into her life may have been a little surprised by her distinctly unglamorous footage from a medical center, where she wore socks and sandals as she watched her husband – Bellator MMA star Austin Vanderford, who often appears in salacious shoots with her on Instagram – have stitches added to a cut on his face by an expert.

"He just got cut open during jiu-jitsu – nothing crazy," she explained, standing over the half-naked Vanderford while he lay on a trolley receiving attention, adding that she was a "medical freak".

The extrovert couple used the occasion to conduct a 15-minute question-and-answer session on Vanderford's page, although the audience spent much of the opportunity inundating VanZant with birthday wishes.

VanZant indicated that she would be happy to remove the stitches from Vanderford's face, admitting that she had recent experience of doing so after removing her own stitches from her last fight, when she lost by decision against Britain Hart in a bruising BKFC debut.

After Vanderford said that the pair would be having sushi to celebrate VanZant's birthday, the hugely popular pin-up revealed that she is currently dedicating her training to boxing and showed off a large scar on her arm.

UFC fighter Mike Perry's girlfriend, Latory Gonzalez, was among VanZant's high-profile friends to send her birthday greetings.