Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship president, Dave Feldman, is close to finalizing another fight for Paige VanZant just weeks on from her unsuccessful debut against Britain Hart.
The former UFC fighter started slowly against Hart but rallied late to make the fight fairly close on the judge’s scorecards.
Ultimately, VanZant dropped to a decision defeat. Despite that Feldman was impressed with her performance and the pay-per-view numbers she brought in.
“The main event, we invested a lot into Paige VanZant and she showed up and fought really, really well,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “I think that we can build upon that.
“[The pay-per-view] did good for us. It’s going to hit six figures. I don’t know where that’s going to end up but that’s a pretty good number for us right now for where we are. That’s a good number. It was a good event for us. It was profitable. Everything went very, very well for us. So all around it was just a very, very good ending for us.”
VanZant’s future in the sport appeared to be unclear after the defeat but Feldman is 100 percent confident she will fight again for BKFC later this year.
“I can confidently say Paige VanZant absolutely will be back with us here in early to mid-summer,” Feldman revealed. “100 percent. We are 100 percent in the Paige VanZant business. We like being in that business. She delivered for us on every aspect we needed and finished the fight strong so that was very important for us. Had she started the fight fast and not finished strong and went a whole different direction, it could be a different conversation but she finished strong and showed the heart she had and that she could adapt to this sport and she did. We’re happy of the performance.
Next up, VanZant will face a “well known” opponent according to the BKFC boss.
“Pretty sure we have the opponent,” Feldman teased. “We’re just dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s on this one. It’s another well-known name and I think the public is really going to get behind this one. I think it’s going to be a really competitive fight.”
Who do you want to see Paige VanZant fight next?