UFC legend Miesha Tate has criticised fighters who profit from OnlyFans pages and says she’ll never consider setting one up herself.
Dana White has often been criticised for not paying women more handsomely. Indeed, YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul recently offered to join the sport if the UFC president offered more money to fighters.
A number of female MMA fighters, past and present, have therefore signed up to OnlyFans and other content creation sites in recent months to generate more revenue.
Jessica Andrade, Jessica Payne and Paige VanZant are just some of the names to have profited from the site. Yet, Tate has branded these fighters “desperate” and stressed she wouldn’t consider it as an option.
Speaking to Combat Culture, the bantamweight star said: “Nowhere in this video did I say I was desperate.”
Her comments attracted backlash from other UFC fighters, including Julia Avila, who emphasised that each individual fighter should be able to do as they please with no judgement.
Taking to Instagram, Avila said: "This is aggravating. Yes women have an [OnlyFans] and what of it?
"Maybe they want attention. Maybe they want an extra dollar. Maybe they just WANT TO CELEBRATE THEIR WOMANHOOD AND HOW FU**ING GORGEOUS THEY ARE.
"It’s not our place to judge or to tear down another woman for it. Fix your crown queen before casting stones on another because, honey, NONE of us are without fault and it’s a hard fu**ing world without having to tear one another down.
"Rather than criticizing how about, ‘it’s not for me’, plain and simple."
Tate is a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion –– famously beating Holly Holm to capture the title back in 2016.
The American is currently eighth in the bantamweight rankings but lost her most recent fight to Ketlen Viera last November.
Having initially retired from MMA back in 2016, she returned in 2021 and won her first fight in five years against Marion Reneau.
Tate has previously stated she has her eyes set on a rematch against Holm but after her most recent defeat, it may be a while until that fight comes to fruition.