Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The little bloody organization that could grabs a pretty big name for a pretty big weekend.
Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant has done a lot at such a young age between modeling, dancing with the stars, prizefighting, reality TV cooking, authoring a book, and selling mops. Now she gets to add bare knuckle fighting to her resume.
That’s the grand master plan of David Feldman (president of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships), who has a card planned for Super Bowl weekend, February 7th in Tampa, Florida.
“I think it’s really going to be a really good coming out party for Paige’s debut and for BKFC in general to be around the mainstream sports media,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “Every sports media in the world will be there, and I think we’re going to get the attention of a lot of them that weekend.”
There’s no word yet on who Paige is gonna be fighting. Scouting the competition shouldn’t be difficult. Everything you want to know about the divisions you can find on the company’s awesome highlight page.
BKFC has been an interesting experiment. What started off as a punchline has turned into simply punches. Sometimes it’s too savage for its own good, and sometimes — honestly, it’s just good. For BKFC, this is clearly a move to broaden their reach, and start moving the needle. This is not a one-of. VanZant signed a multi-fight deal. And as is customary; VanZant will be in the spotlight beyond just the competition.
“We’re going to do a special series about her,” Feldman continued. “It’s going to be called Paige VanZant: Ungloved. We’re going to do a behind the scenes of her getting ready for this fight, her home life and everything leading up to this journey and ultimately her first fight with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships on Feb. 5.”
Not what you’d call pushing the envelope of creativity here, but it’s a solid get for a promotion that is just finding its bloody knuckle groove.