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Paige VanZant details scary stalker incident at American Top Team and the ex-UFC fighter who saved her

Youtube star turned BKFC brawler Paige VanZant recently opened up about a scary stalker situation that she experienced. Despite…

Youtube star turned BKFC brawler Paige VanZant recently opened up about a scary stalker situation that she experienced.

Despite not having competed since 2021, ’12 Gauge’ continues to be one of the biggest names in all of combat sports, much of that due to her immense popularity on social media and through her OnlyFans account which grants fans unparalleled access to the former UFC flyweight.

Unfortunately, that level of fame does come with a potential downside. During a recent episode of her podcast, Paige and Austin: A Kickass Love Story, VanZant revealed that she had a run-in with a particularly chilling stalker who had approached her while she was training at her home gym, American Top Team.

“I had a stalker, a big-time stalker,” VanZant said on her podcast. “I’m training and I notice this guy watching me the whole time. Instantly, I got the vibe that this guy is f*cking weird and staring at me the whole time. I thought he’s a fan so you try to be nice. Of course, people can be nervous. It was the prime of my UFC career, maybe he was just a fan and was nervous.

“He comes over and starts talking to me. He’s like, ‘Hey, how are you? I’m so happy to meet you or I’m so happy that we’re together.’ I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’ I was like, ‘What’s your name?’ He was like, ‘It’s blah blah blah, we’ve been talking on Instagram for years.’ I was like, ‘What?’”

Paige VanZant reveals the fighter who came to her rescue

As it turns out, the man had been messaging her on social media for years, sending multiple messages per day unbeknownst to VanZant.

“I go in the back [of the gym] and open the messages,” VanZant continued. “He has been messaging every single day. At least 10 to 20 messages for the last four years. Every day he would message and message and message about how we’re meant to be together. About how Allah told him we were meant to be together and how he was thinking about me the entire time he was in jail” (h/t BJPenn.com).

VanZant revealed that her ATT teammate and former UFC standout Ed Herman had noticed the man harassing ’12 Gauge’ and promptly ordered him to leave the gym. VanZant has not seen or heard from him since.

It’s certainly not the first time VanZant has had to deal with an overzealous fan. Earlier this year, she claimed that one man had offered her $50,000 to cut her hair into a specific style — the caveat being that she had to send him all of her hair to collect the cash. VanZant admittedly mulled over the offer for a few days before ultimately declining.

Despite making money hand over fist through her ventures outside of the cage and the ring, Paige VanZant has remained insistent that she is not retired from fighting. In February, ’12 Guage’ announced that she had accepted a boxing match tentatively scheduled for May or June. VanZant initially expected her return to be for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the promotion she signed with shortly after her exit from the UFC in 2020.

VanZant remains hopeful that the promotion will bring her back for one more bare-knuckle fight.

Jorge Masvidal Reacts To Teammate Kayla Harrison’s Shocking Loss

UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal feels Kayla Harrison should keep her head held high despite her first professional loss. Harrison lost to Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision at the 2022 PFL Championships this past weekend in New York City. It was th…

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Amanda Nunes Says Harrison’s Words Influenced Decision To Leave ATT

Former UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has provided more context for why she decided to leave her longtime gym American Top Team (ATT). Nunes left ATT following her loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 269 last December. She hinted at a desire to have her own private space for training as being a significant reason…

Continue Reading Amanda Nunes Says Harrison’s Words Influenced Decision To Leave ATT at MMA News.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has provided more context for why she decided to leave her longtime gym American Top Team (ATT).

Nunes left ATT following her loss to Julianna Peña at UFC 269 last December. She hinted at a desire to have her own private space for training as being a significant reason for her choosing to part ways with the gym.

But Nunes has recently opened up more about her leave, specifically pointing to multiple-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison.

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast, Nunes explained how additions to ATT such as Harrison and UFC fighter Yana Kunitskaya changed her perception of the gym.

“There’s that saying, like it or lump it. I was bothered by the whole situation, of course,” Nunes said. “There were no girls when I got to American Top Team. I was the first woman to bring two belts and put the women’s team in history. When Kayla got there and then Kunitskaya, it began creating a weird situation for me because that was my territory.

“And then Kayla started talking. I was kind of, ‘Man, I’m not safe even in my territory.’ I was kind of cornered, even because we share the same coaches. She trains with Mike Brown and I train with Mike Brown. I was already training with them when she got there.

“If there’s someone that carries the name of the team, that’s me, who brought two belts (to ATT). If I wasn’t who I really am, a champion in two divisions, cool, no problem. But I was the champion already. She would have to train somewhere else to fight me.” (h/t BJ Penn)

Harrison re-signed with the PFL despite talks with the UFC and Bellator during her free agency. She most recently alluded that wins over Nunes and Bellator champion Cris Cyborg would cement her status as the greatest female fighter.

Nunes is coaching the current season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Pena and the two bantamweights will face off in a rematch later this year. With Harrison re-joining the PFL for at least this season, talks of a fight with Nunes seem to be on hold for now, but Nunes has still felt the impact of Harrison’s rise at ATT.

What are your thoughts on Amanda Nunes’ comments about her ATT exit?

Continue Reading Amanda Nunes Says Harrison’s Words Influenced Decision To Leave ATT at MMA News.

Colby Covington Expects Pay Rise After UFC 272: ‘I Want To Be Paid More Than Jorge Masvidal’

Colby Covington wants a bigger piece of the cake. ”Chaos’ made that much clear while speaking with the press after his unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272. Heading into UFC 272, it was reported Covington wasn’t earning any points from the pay-per-view purchases. “This fight I didn’t care about money, I wanted […]

Colby Covington wants a bigger piece of the cake. ”Chaos’ made that much clear while speaking with the press after his unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272.

Heading into UFC 272, it was reported Covington wasn’t earning any points from the pay-per-view purchases.

“This fight I didn’t care about money, I wanted to come out here and fight this guy,” Covington said.

“I was willing to take a pay cut, I would have fought this guy for free.”

Now after beating his former best friend, Covington believes he should be making more than Masvidal, who signed a lucrative new deal prior to the fight.

“I want to be paid more than Jorge Masvidal. I need to be making more than Jorge, that guy’s a flash in the pan.”

“He signed the contract right before the fight because he knew he was going to get his a** whopped. He wasn’t going to have any leverage or power to negotiate after I whoop his a** on Monday morning.”

After headlining three PPV’s, it’s going to be hard for the UFC to deny Covington his fair share. He certainly feels that he is deserving.

“I just turned 34 two weeks before this fight,” Covington added. “I’m in my prime, I’m getting better every single day. You haven’t seen the best of me, I still got a long career ahead of me.”

Colby Covington Still Has Beef With Jorge Masvidal

After 25 minutes in the octagon, Covington wanted more of Masvidal.

“I was ready for 5 more rounds in the parking lot,” he said.

The self-labeled ‘King of Miami’ also threw more jabs at American Top Team calling the gym “American Trash Team.”

It will be interesting to see where Covington goes from here, having already fought Kamaru Usman twice. It seems he has his eyes set on another ATT member, Dustin Poirier. He believes that would serve as a “tune-up” fight before he can meet Usman for the third time.

Covington would prefer to fight three times this year, hoping he makes the walk to the octagon for International Fight Week in July.

Love him or hate him, Covington has proved to be one of the biggest draws in the company.

You can view his full post-fight interview here:

Who would you like Colby Covington to face next?

Covington Takes One Last Personal Shot At Masvidal & ATT Pre-UFC 272

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington wanted to get a final message across to Jorge Masvidal before their grudge match at UFC 272. After months and years of brewing tensions between Covington and Masvidal, they’ll finally get the opportunity to prove themselves in the Octagon in the UFC 272 headliner. The former friends turned rivals have…

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UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington wanted to get a final message across to Jorge Masvidal before their grudge match at UFC 272.

After months and years of brewing tensions between Covington and Masvidal, they’ll finally get the opportunity to prove themselves in the Octagon in the UFC 272 headliner. The former friends turned rivals have engaged in quite the mental warfare over time, especially during fight week.

A chaotic UFC 272 pre-fight press conference was followed up by an intense staredown at the ceremonial weigh-ins. Covington and Masvidal came face to face one last time before their highly-anticipated matchup.

An excess of security personnel and UFC President Dana White separated the two sides from engaging in a physical altercation, but the battle continued shortly after their faceoff. Covington has been on Masvidal’s nerves, invoking Masvidal’s personal life and his ex-wife.

Just hours before his fight with Masvidal, Covington took an opportunity to take a final shot at his UFC 272 opponent along with his former coach Mike Brown.

Hey @GamebredFighter you looked real nervous bud… Maybe you should try that juiced up little drug addict Mike Browns favorite trick to take the edge off and fight on some GHB. Yeah I said GHB, but Brown did HGH too because he’s a nut less bitch just like you. #ufc272

— Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) March 5, 2022

“Hey [Jorge Masvidal] you looked real nervous bud…” Covington said. “Maybe you should try that juiced up little drug addict Mike Browns favorite trick to take the edge off and fight on some GHB. Yeah I said GHB, but Brown did HGH too because he’s a nut less b**ch just like you.”

Brown is one of Masvidal’s main coaches and is arguably the closest to the welterweight star. Covington accused Brown of being a drug addict at the pre-fight press conference and doubled down on his stance in this most recent tweet.

Covington and Masvidal used to be teammates and friends at American Top Team in Florida. This was before the amicable relations between the two shattered following an alleged failed payout to a coach by Covington and a series of near-brawls at the gym.

Brown recently confirmed Covington’s leaked information regarding Masvidal’s injury that forced him to withdraw from UFC 269. He was supposed to face Leon Edwards, another bitter rival of his.

Masvidal has also recently shared a near-brawl that took place between him and Covington at a Miami-area sushi restaurant as their friendship deteriorated. After inviting Covington for a meal, and possibly a fight, Covington failed to show up.

This is much more than a grudge match, as former strawweight champion Joanna J?drzejczyk has alluded. This is a matchup between two of the biggest stars in recent UFC history and Covington and Masvidal will look to put on a show at UFC 272.

What is your prediction for Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal?

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Colby Covington Claims He Rejected An Invitation Back To ATT

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington recently revealed that he had an opportunity to go back to American Top Team, but turned it down. Covington is set to face his former friend and ATT teammate Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 272. It is arguably one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history…

Continue Reading Colby Covington Claims He Rejected An Invitation Back To ATT at MMA News.

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington recently revealed that he had an opportunity to go back to American Top Team, but turned it down.

Covington is set to face his former friend and ATT teammate Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 272. It is arguably one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history and one of the rare non-title main events in recent memory.

A major storyline of the Covington/Masvidal fight is the two fighters’ time at ATT, and Covington’s eventual departure. Covington left the team after near brawls and building tension between Covington and Masvidal, Joanna J?drzejczyk, and Dustin Poirier.

ATT owner Dan Lambert has recently detailed his version of what led to Covington leaving the team, and that Covington’s fractured relationship with Masvidal was unfixable.

During a recent interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Covington admitted that he turned down an offer to return to ATT after the initial split.

“Yeah, I got invited back by Dan and Conan,” Covington said. “Yeah, go ask them. I got texts, if you want to see the receipts I can show you. I have them, they invited me back. I didn’t want to go back. It wasn’t a good situation for me anymore. The last two years of training there, just all drama. Terrible energy. I couldn’t have any focus in my career, there was no direction, nothing. Just, it was terrible. It was draining me and I wasn’t getting the best out of myself. What was sacrificed was my training and my evolution as a fighter.

Interview with UFC Champ Colby Covington of American Top Team in South Florida - YouTube — Colby Covington

“Now, I rid myself of that drama and all that stuff, I have a great camp that actually cares about me. It’s not about money, it’s not about paychecks, it’s about developing us as a fighter. Evolving. Taking the steps to get better every single day and I’ve seen the growth.”

Covington went on to join nearby MMA Masters and is now coached by Cesar Carneiro and Daniel Valverde. He has said on numerous occasions how much of a burden training at ATT was for him during the final days of his tenure.

Covington’s matchup with Masvidal isn’t just seen by some as a fighter vs. fighter battle, but also one with his former gym ATT. Covington will have the chance to silence his critics this weekend at UFC 272.

What is your prediction for Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal?

Continue Reading Colby Covington Claims He Rejected An Invitation Back To ATT at MMA News.