Paige VanZant is the latest roster addition for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
VanZant broke the news to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “12 Gauge” had fought out of her UFC deal, losing to Amanda Ribas via first-round submission. UFC president Dana White said PVZ would be best served looking elsewhere for work, while heaping praise on Ribas and seemingly strapping the rocket to her back.
Paige VanZant Explains Decision To Sign With BKFC
VanZant told Helwani that she is prepared to break the stereotype of being a “pretty face” in the world of combat sports.
“It was an amazing contract, an amazing opportunity,” VanZant told ESPN. “I also feel like it’s not a move backwards for me. It’s a lateral move to a new opportunity, a new challenge, a brand new sport. I really have sparked a brand new passion for it and especially for striking in general.
“And, on top of that, I feel like I still have this stigma in MMA that I’m just a pretty face, and what a way to prove to people that’s not the way I see myself at all. This is a sport where people probably have the highest rate of getting cut open and having long-term scars is definitely something that I’m not even worried about for me. It’s just the love of competition and I’m really excited to go out there and show off in such an amazing sport.”
BKFC president David Feldman has made it clear that he’s willing to shell out money to benefit his promotion. He reportedly offered Mike Tyson and Wanderlei Silva lucrative contracts to compete against one another. Tyson declined, while Silva suffered a biking accident.
