Ailín Pérez went viral for allegedly brawling with Joselyn Edwards and twerking on the cage after her UFC Vegas 82 win, and she cashed in on OnlyFans.
On Wednesday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Pérez said buzz around her appearance boosted her engagement on the content creator site, ultimately dwarfing the fight purse she earned this past Saturday.
“Since [this past] Thursday to now, it’s been over $30,000,” she said via translator.
That’s at least $6,000 more than Pérez said she made for a decision over Lucie Pudilová, which kicked off the attention-grabbing celebration, she added.
Several female fighters have spoken about the benefit of earning income from OnlyFans. UFC and BKFC vet Paige VanZant said the money she made from one day on the platform dwarfed her entire fight earnings, and former BKFC champ Bec Rawlings called it a “game changer.”
Perez, a former amateur dancer, plans to continue building her presence on the platform because, like others, it helps fund her combat sports career — and her life.
“I take advantage of the OnlyFans, because that’s where I’m [making] my money,” she said. “With the money I got from OnlyFans, I was able to buy a car.
“I’m in the UFC because I love to fight. This is the challenge that I’ve put forth for myself in my life, and I’m fighting in the UFC because I love it. But I’m [making] the money I have on OnlyFans.”
Perez noted her UFC earnings are at their current level because it’s her first contract and she has to keep winning to make more. But at the same time, she said money is not her primary motivation for fighting in the octagon.
“Hopefully I get a new extension, which is what I’m looking for, and hopefully I can multiply that number so it’s even better pay than what I’ve gotten,” she said. “But at this point, if it’s more, if it’s less, my life is fighting, and I love fighting, and I’m going to fight regardless.”
The UFC’s corporate sibling, WWE, has frowned on its talent posting racy material on OnlyFans. If that restriction arrived for octagon competitors, Perez said she’d give up her account.
“I’ll modify some of my costs,” she said. “But no, I’m fighting in the UFC. I’m fighting for my country. That’s more important to me.”
For now, though, Perez is enjoying the attention she’s received from her celebration, which she shared with her coach as they both twerked on the cage — and, she said, she nearly fell trying to pull off the move.
“There are two reasons I did the celebration,” she said. “First, because during the [fight] camp, we actually practiced that, because we always want to be different in whatever we do, so this was a planned thing. And because it was one of the most common videos that my OnlyFans subscribers asked for.
“I love dancing, and everything I do, I find a way — I can be in the shower, I can be cooking something, and I’m dancing. When I’m with my son, we’re always dancing together. Any time there’s something to celebrate about that we’re happy, I love to dance.”
