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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight sensation Paige VanZant is expected to make her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut on Fri., Feb. 5, 2021 against an opponent to be named somewhere in or around the Tampa, Fla. area on Super Bowl Weekend.
That’s according to BKFC head cheese David Feldman.
“I think it’s really going to be a really good coming out party for Paige’s debut and for BKFC in general to be around the mainstream sports media,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “Every sports media in the world will be there, and I think we’re going to get the attention of a lot of them that weekend. It’s going to be a great weekend for us and a great debut for Paige VanZant.”
VanZant is expected to be the main or co-main event.
The 26 year-old “12 Gauge” finished up her contract with UFC last July on “Fight Island,” falling to Amanda Ribas by way of first-round armbar. There was a contract on the table from Bellator MMA but much to the chagrin of husband Austin Vanderford, that offer was declined.
“We’re going to do a special series about her,” Feldman continued. “It’s going to be called Paige VanZant: ‘Ungloved.’ We’re going to do a behind the scenes of her getting ready for this fight, her home life and everything leading up to this journey and ultimately her first fight with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships on Feb. 5.”
BKFC is no stranger to former UFC strawweights, putting pen to paper for Bec Rawlings back in early 2018. That was roughly two years after “Rowdy” got starched by VanZant at UFC on FOX 21 in Vancouver.
As of this writing, no other names have been revealed for the Feb. 5 card.