We live in a world where most things can be done with the push of a button. Whether it’s ordering your favorite book, or making money from posting online content, the 21st century is rife with money-making opportunities. What’s more, is that you don’t have to be stuck in your day job to earn money on the side with online hustles. Just ask the plethora of fighters out there who are active on OnlyFans, like Paige VanZant, Hannah Goldy, Bec Rawlings, or Rachael Ostovich. However, that’s not the case with Maria Agapova. 

‘Money Mashka’ knows all about financial struggles but doesn’t see the platform as a way of improving her financial situation in life. The woman’s flyweight phenom from Kazakhstan has tasted victory with 10 wins in her MMA career but is now going through a devastating time. In July, the Central Asian UFC prospect was unfortunately released from the promotion following her first-round submission loss to Luana Santos at UFC Denver – her third back-to-back loss in the promotion.

Recently her tentatively scheduled fight under the BKFC banner for December got canceled, and now the 27-year-old is facing homelessness. “Today, I am staying on the street. If anyone can help, let me know,” Agapova wrote on her Instagram story. “Many people ask what happened. I fought for money all year and didn’t work.” She added, “I didn’t get much money for the last fight, and my bare-knuckle fight in December was canceled. So, I ended up on the street and without money. I’ve been in poverty for several years. Out of desperation, I signed up for bare-knuckle.”

This is not her first stint with such a struggle as this has happened before. She was already facing adversities three months before her last fight at UFC Denver. Agapova revealed that she was homeless and unable to find a job because of her training schedule. The fight against Santos in July was after almost two years away from competition and unfortunately, things did not go her way. She lost via a rear naked choke in the opening round, her UFC record dropped to 2-4, and she could feel that it was the end of her run.

The same fear came back to her one month after her UFC release even though things started to look up because she was signed under BKFC. She revealed her plight through Instagram stating, “In a week I’ll probably be homeless. Are you surprised? But not me. This is a classic of my life in America. Becoming homeless right before a UFC fight. This is a f*cking classic! “ Agapova revealed the dark side of financial struggles in the US especially for women, and mentioned the struggles of women with exploitative practices. The recent news of her struggles touched fans who urged the UFC head honcho to help the Kazakh fighter in any way possible.

Fans share their condolences and urge Dana White to help Maria Agapova

The post on X was swamped with MMA fans expressing their worry and condolences for the 27-year-old. Many even asked  Dana White to help since he is known for his generosity shown to fighters like Joe Pyfer. Pyfer had told White that he had nowhere to go and the UFC boss had given him enough money to pay for a year’s worth of rent, which Pyfer was very grateful for. When the boss was asked about this back then he said that he helps people out whenever he can. “I do a lot of things for a lot of people that I don’t necessarily talk about,” White told journalists at the DWCS 55 post-fight press conference. “Joe Pyfer, when I left the press conference that night, he told me he was about to be homeless. So, that ain’t gonna happen.”

One fan said, “I know this is not the UFC’s responsibility, but maybe  @AliAbdelaziz00 can help to reach this info to Dana White, I mean at least she was part of the UFC family.” While name-dropping the famed MMA manager seems out of pocket, it does make sense since he’s one of the most successful fight managers out there, having a roster of high-profile UFC talents like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kamaru Usman.

Keeping her fighting career afloat for several years, Agapova even sold art pieces at one point, and the martial artist is a multi-talented individual because she is also a tattoo artist. Agapova started her tattoo business to earn money when she was not fighting. Even after that, it was hard to maintain a stable lifestyle, trying to balance her business with fighting. One follower wrote, “Man, that’s f up, how is she not at least have enough money from UFC to at least survive for a year? And where is her family? Where is her gym family? holly s**t.” A user with the handle PAM (@ParamPam1990) who uploaded the post about Agapova, replied, “She struggled at UFC and got cut after 3 losses. Those camps are expensive and it is a net loss till you become someone there.”

Another follower chimed in, “So sad to know that,” while one netizen commented, “Feel horrible for her.” A concerned MMA follower reached out to help and wrote, “Where can we help?” Thankfully, because of their comment, the followers got the latest update that the Kazakh fighter is stable and doing well for the moment.

The user @PAM provided the update, “On her Insta, but I think she got some help already.” After that, the user shared their own X post about the same. The post was about the former UFC prospect and current BKFC fighter who had written that she was doing much better. Agapova had posted a mirror selfie inside the gym with captions, “ Thank you all so much for your support! Things are much better today.”

The latest post on her social media platform is an Instagram story where she uploaded a selfie inside the gym with the caption ‘Happy Monday’.  Well, we’re glad that she received support through an extremely trying time. We can only hope that she gains steam and momentum, and find her way back into the win column.