Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstar Paige VanZant will make her awaited Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut later tonight (Fri., Feb. 5, 2021) at BKFC 16: “KnuckleMania” live on FITE.tv PPV from inside RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida. She will be matched up against Britain Hart in the PPV main event.
VanZant, 26, was one of the biggest female stars in UFC during her time in the promotion from 2014-2020. She wasn’t able to cash in on a title shot of any kind, but with wins over the likes of Bec Rawlings, Felice Herrig, and Rachael Ostovich, VanZant created quite the name for herself around the combat community. Participating on “Dancing with the Stars” only added to her overall popularity.
After leaving UFC behind last year to sign with BKFC VanZant has had plenty of time to prepare for his bare knuckle debut. While “12 Gauge” has serious experience in combat sports it’s going to be a different experience for her later tonight on PPV. She will no longer have the protection of UFC gloves or able to lean on her scrambling and submission skills. VanZant is going to find herself in a bloody fist fight and she will be tested at every turn.
Luckily, VanZant has put the necessary work in leading into her BKFC debut. The promotion was able to capture the pre-fight preparation through a three-episode series titled, “Road To KnuckleMania.” You can catch all three episodes below in advance to PVZ’s first bare-knuckle boxing match later tonight:
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire “KnuckleMania” fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the YouTube “Prelims” matches at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the FITE TV PPV main card at 9 p.m. ET.
For much more on BKFC and “KnuckleMania” click here.