Moments ago, UFC CEO Dana White announced on the UFC Saudi Arabia broadcast that former UFC Strawweight contender Paige VanZant was crossing over into a new arena: Power Slap! She’ll debut on June 28 at the Power Slap 8 event versus South Africa’s Christine Wolmarans.
This is shocking for any number of reasons. First and foremost, we’ve never seen a popular UFC fighter — former or current — crossover to Power Slap. It’s been the realm of unknown slappers competing for embarrassingly low payouts, not a rebound option for struggling combat sports stars.
I guess PVZ is breaking ground?
“12 Gauge” has pretty much done it all as a combat sports athlete. She rose to prominence as an MMA fighter, starting off her UFC career with a 3-0 start. Rose Namajunas ended that streak in dominant fashion, but then VanZant’s star grew even brighter after a lengthy appearance on Dancing With The Stars.
In her return to the cage, a 2-3 run sent “PVZ” searching for greener pastures. She signed a massive seven-figure contract with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, and she reportedly still has one fight left with the promotion. In addition to her BKFC career, VanZant did some professional wrestling and competed in a Misfits Boxing match. Oh, and somewhere in the middle of all this, VanZant started an extremely lucrative OnlyFans that easily eclipses her combat sports earnings.
On the whole, it’s a hugely unexpected career move for VanZant. At the same time, durability and toughness always ranked highly among her best attributes, so perhaps she’s made for Power Slap success?
We’ll find out.