Another blow to the “12 Gauge” family.
Former UFC strawweight and current AEW attraction Paige VanZant was expected to make her return to bareknuckle boxing as part of the BKFC pay-per-view (PPV) card this Sat. night (Aug. 20, 2022) at OVO Arena Wembley in London, England, but that fight has now been postponed after “12 Gauge” was pulled for undisclosed reasons.
MyMMANews first reported the lineup change on Tuesday.
The good news for opponent Charisa Sigala is that VanZant is expected to rebook the fight for Oct. 15, though a city and venue have yet to be revealed. In addition, BKFC fans still have the Michael Page vs. Mike Perry fight atop this weekend’s card, as well as the Connor Tierney vs. Joe Elmore grudge match at 165 pounds.
VanZant, 28, parted ways with UFC in the wake of her submission loss to Amanda Ribas in summer 2020, then promptly signed with BKFC just a few weeks later. Unfortunately, “12 Gauge” was unable to deliver on her pre-fight promises and posted consecutive decision losses to boxing standout Britain Hart and fellow UFC export Rachael Ostovich.
No word yet from VanZant on what led to her abrupt withdrawal.