Don’t count Paige VanZant out of the fight game just yet. The former UFC women’s flyweight says she’ll make a return when she’s ‘really ready.’
Paige VanZant hasn’t fought in over two years, but according to “12 Guage” her batteries are refilling and a return to combat sports is inevitable.
VanZant doesn’t need to fight for money any more. According to the 29-year-old, she made more money on OnlyFans in 24 hours than in her entire career as a fighter. So why go through all the ups and downs of a fight camp and get punched in the face repeatedly?
“That’s a really good question,” she said during a livestream (via Sportskeeda). “So, of course the last fight that I was supposed to have for BKFC, the fight got pulled the week of the fight. I had cut all my weight, I was so excited to fight, I got mega depressed. So I took a little bit of time off and I’m back in the gym, training a hundred percent now. And I feel like I’m in a really good place, where I’m training for fun and to get better. Not just to prepare for a fight.”
“So I want to continue, just kinda doing this, what I’m doing right now,” she continued. “Training to have fun, to get better and learn. And then once I feel, like I’m desperate to fight — which I do really want to — but once I feel like I’m mentally and physically prepared, then I’m going to take a fight. I don’t want to just take a fight because I want to. I want to really feel it in my body, that I’m ready. So, it’s coming though. I am working really hard.”
VanZant left the UFC in 2020 with a 5-4 record and signed a big money deal with Bare Knuckle FC. Her two fights there in 2021 were decision losses, and then there was a confusing fight cancellation in August 2022 for a BKFC event in the UK. PVZ was not pleased with that development.
“I WENT AN ENTIRE CAMP AND WEIGHT CUT TO BE PULLED A WEEK OUT!!!!” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I DID NOT PULL FROM MY FIGHT!!!! I WAS PULLED! I AM PISSED OFF AND HEARTBROKEN! I [WORKED] MY F—KING ASS OFF TO BE PULLED A WEEK BEFORE I AM SUPPOSED TO COMPETE!!!!!!”
That’s left us wondering about the state of the relationship between VanZant and Bare Knuckle FC, but BKFC president David Feldman is optimistic about her returning.
“I actually questioned [if she’d return to BKFC] myself,” Feldman said back in March. “But, she had a conversation with a couple of the guys on the team and I don’t think that she’s moved on. I think she wants one more crack at it. I know that I want to give her one more crack at it, so I think we’re going to have at least one more run there.”
Perhaps VanZant will start feeling desperate to fight as soon as her contract terms with BKFC expire. For now, she’s keeping busy at American Top Team, and even busier with the saucy pictures. We’ll keep you updated when she finally gets that overwhelming urge to compete in the ring or cage.