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Paige VanZant Wants To Prove She’s ‘Toughest Of The Tough’ In BKFC

Paige VanZant is looking to prove she has what it takes to transition from MMA to the world of bare-knuckle boxing. The former UFC star debuted in the promotion in November 2014. She was originally supposed to be part of the previous iteration of The Ultimate Fighter, but wasn’t allowed to participate because she was […]

Paige VanZant is looking to prove she has what it takes to transition from MMA to the world of bare-knuckle boxing.

The former UFC star debuted in the promotion in November 2014. She was originally supposed to be part of the previous iteration of The Ultimate Fighter, but wasn’t allowed to participate because she was only 20 years-old, and contestants must be 21 due to the presence of alcohol in the house. She went 5-4 while with the UFC, fighting a number of big names and often being given high-profile treatment. She also made a number of appearances outside of the octagon, which included appearing on the TV shows Dancing with the Stars and Chopped. Her run in the organization ended after UFC 251, where she was defeated by Amanda Ribas in the first round. That fight was the last on VanZant’s contract, and she was very vocal about her pay going into the bout. Many believed the UFC matched her against the streaking Ribas to send her into free agency coming off a loss.

After exploring her options as a free agent, VanZant surprised many when she decided to sign with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. The belief was she would sign with Bellator MMA, where she would join her husband, Austin Vanderford. In an interview with Unlocking the Cage, she gave more insight as to what went into her decision (H/T BJPenn).

“It wasn’t strictly financial for me,” Paige VanZant said. “I actually had three or four big players when it came to negotiating contracts. So I had four awesome offers to look at. I think everyone kind of expected me to go to Bellator cause that’s where my husband [Austin Vanderford] fights. And of course, that aspect did intrigue me, I’d love to fight for the same organization as him. It makes sense career-wise, I guess. But, the passion in me wanted to go to bare-knuckle.

“I feel like looking at my fight career, yeah I have an equal amount of submission finishes, knockouts, and like a decision. So for me, it was more about when you look at my whole fight career, the one thing that stands out above anything is how tough I am and I carried that through every single fight and I think the people who really make it in bare-knuckle boxing are the people who are tough. It’s a sport for only the toughest of the tough. And that’s where I want to show my worth and my value. At the same time, I get to utilize and sharpen what I feel is one of my best weapons and that’s my striking.”

Many wondered if her signing with BKFC signaled the end of her MMA career, where she ran up an 8-5 record. While VanZant didn’t shut down the idea that she has moved on from MMA, she also said that she’s more focused on what’s directly in front of her.

“I may go back to MMA, we don’t know,” VanZant finished. “But right now I’m truly passionate about this bare-knuckle boxing and I’m excited to see where it takes me.”

VanZant is scheduled to make her BKFC debut on February 5, reportedly opposite Britain Knight. She will be looking to record her first victory in combat sports since January 2019, when she defeated Rachael Ostovich.

How do you think Paige VanZant will do in BKFC? Do you want to see her return to MMA?

BKFC Fighter Sheena Starr Receives Criticism Following Controversial Comments About Paige VanZant

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship fighter, Sheena ‘Puma Starr’ Brandenburg has received some criticism following her recent take on the promotion’s signature of UFC veteran, Paige ’12 Gauge’ VanZant. The 37-year-old strawweight who holds a 1-1 record under the David Feldman led organization gave her thoughts on VanZant’s recent signing to the organization, detailing how she […]

The 37-year-old strawweight who holds a 1-1 record under the David Feldman led organization gave her thoughts on VanZant’s recent signing to the organization, detailing how she is excited about the possibility of the Oregan native’s hype train derailing, before claiming a “train” was ran on VanZant during her stint with Team Alpha MMA, quite a distasteful comment given the 26-year-old’s prior sexual abuse history.

“I can’t wait for her hype train to be derailed worse than the train that was ran on her at Team Alpha Male [MMA].“

CW: Sexual assault

Disgusting. Paige VanZant was gang raped in high school and experienced severe bullying after. Probably heard comments exactly like this. It can already be difficult for survivors to reform healthy bonds with sexuality. Slut shaming is gross toward anyone. pic.twitter.com/SJWsJI3F9v

— Alex Scaffidi (@alexscaffidi_) November 25, 2020

Starr, who competes at strawweight last featured under the promotion’s banner at BKFC 8 in October of last year, dropping a first-round knockout defeat to Delaney Owen, following a knockout victory of her own over Ivana Coleman at BKFC 5 in April of that year.

Starr’s distasteful conclusion to her quote comes after VanZant had revealed in her 2018 book that she had been gang-raped at the age of fourteen, and bullied mercilessly as a result. VanZant went on to explain how she had contemplated taking her own life following the incident and the subsequent bullying.

In response to recent criticism, Starr addressed her comments, notably failing to issue an apology or rescind any of her unfounded claims in regards to VanZant’s time with Sacramento based facility, Team Alpha MMA.

“This is absolutely horrible,” Starr wrote. “I had no idea about her (Paige VanZant’s) assault. Please nobody think that the quote that was made had anything to do with this as it was just brought to my attention TODAY, also I would NEVER take a stab at anyone in regards to being legitimately assaulted and if I knew of this prior I would have given a different quote COMPLETELY. What the rumour is w (with) [Team] Alpha male [MMA] is what SHE did. Her sexual assault is what someone ELSE did to her… totally different ya know, don’t twist it.“

This is absolutely horrible. I had no idea about her past assault. Please nobody think that the quote that was made had…

Posted by Sheena Starr on Monday, November 23, 2020

Whilst Starr addressed the issue regarding her unpalatable and unarrested comments about VanZant, she replied to a comment on the above post, claiming “oh it is” in response to a commenter who wrote, “I still think what you said was funny as F*CK.”

Paige VanZant’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Debut Postponed

The world is going to have to wait a few more months before seeing how Paige VanZant fares in her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut. It was announced this past summer that Paige VanZant will be taking her talents to BKFC in what was expec…

The post Paige VanZant’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Debut Postponed appeared first on MMA News.

Anthony Johnson Talks UFC Return At BKFC 12 Press Conference

Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson is finally making his return to the UFC octagon after over three years away, despite how he feels about fighters not knowing when to walk away. The former two-time UFC light-heavyweight title challenger retired after his second defeat to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in April of 2017. Since retiring, Johnson began […]

Since retiring, Johnson began bodybuilding, and not long after became an ambassador for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). But now he’s got the itch again, and at 36-years-old, he doesn’t have much time left to make a comeback. More or less, now’s the perfect time.

The one very unfortunate thing about this however, Jon Jones announced he’s vacating his UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship, and that’s one dream fight we never got to see.

‘Rumble’ was supposed to face Jones for the title at UFC 187 in May of 2015, but this was one of the many times Jones got suspended, and he ended up facing Daniel Cormier instead. We’ve seen twice that Cormier’s the better man, but he’s not around anymore either, and Johnson’s the scariest light-heavyweight this sport has seen.

That doesn’t mean he’s the most technical or best fighter out there, but the pure raw power he possesses is truly scary. Of his 22 wins, he has 16 knockouts and six decisions, and ten of those knockout wins were KO’s. Better yet, he went 6-2 in his recent return to the UFC and scored five knockouts with four KO’s then, with the only TKO being over Alexander Gustafsson.

His manager, Ali Abdelaziz announced that he’s back in the USADA testing pool, which means he’ll be eligible to compete soon.

If he can come back at his best, it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see what happens, the 205 lb division is thriving beautifully right now. When asked at the BKFC 12 press conference earlier today why now is the right time to return to the UFC, ‘Rumble’ had the following to say on the matter:

“Honestly, I missed the sport, you know what I mean? I missed the sport, I miss competing. So I knew at one point, I was against guys coming back from retirement. You know, you usually see them get mopped up. You know, BJ Penn came back and got mopped up. I’ve seen everybody that came back out of retirement get mopped up.

“I just don’t wanna be one of those guys that gets mopped up, but I still feel good, I have no injuries. While I was in the UFC, I didn’t really get hit much unless I lost, and that wasn’t often. But, you never know. You know, I got a couple more fights on my contract with the UFC, and then after that you know, I may fight for Dave (Feldman).”

Who would you like to see ‘Rumble’ fight upon returning to the octagon?

Paige VanZant & Manager Detail Multi-Million Dollar BKFC Deal

Paige VanZant is cashing in with her move to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. VanZant had been competing under the UFC banner since Nov. 2014. Her UFC 251 bout with Amanda Ribas was her final bout with the promotion as her contract expired. “1…

The post Paige VanZant & Manager Detail Multi-Million Dollar BKFC Deal appeared first on MMA News.

Paige VanZant Wants To Prove She’s Just Not A ‘Pretty Face’ With BKFC Move

There were a number of reasons why Paige VanZant decided to make the transition to bare knuckle boxing. It was announced on Wednesday that the former UFC women’s flyweight had signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle FC. Many were surprised with the move, especially given the brutal nature of bare knuckle fighting which tends […]

There were a number of reasons why Paige VanZant decided to make the transition to bare knuckle boxing.

It was announced on Wednesday that the former UFC women’s flyweight had signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle FC.

Many were surprised with the move, especially given the brutal nature of bare knuckle fighting which tends to lead to plenty of cuts and facial damage.

But that is one of the very reasons why she decided to go ahead with the move among other factors.

“It was an amazing contract, an amazing opportunity,” VanZant told ESPN. “I also feel like it’s not a move backwards for me. It’s a lateral move to a new opportunity, a new challenge, a brand new sport. I really have sparked a brand new passion for it and especially for striking in general.

“And, on top of that, I feel like I still have this stigma in MMA that I’m just a pretty face, and what a way to prove to people that’s not the way I see myself at all. This is a sport where people probably have the highest rate of getting cut open and having long-term scars is definitely something that I’m not even worried about for me. It’s just the love of competition and I’m really excited to go out there and show off in such an amazing sport.”

VanZant Spoke To A Number Of Promotions

It was notably revealed that VanZant declined an offer with Bellator to sign with BKFC.

However, she was speaking to a number of other promotions ever since she completed the final fight of her UFC deal last month.

In the end, BKFC was what made the most sense for her.

“I talked to a lot of different promotions,” VanZant added. “I actually had no idea that I would have so many come with such big offers. I knew I would get the big players in the game, like Bellator or ONE, but I actually had five or six huge, solid promotions that I had to decide on.

“For me, at this moment in my career, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship was the one that fit best.”

What do you make of VanZant’s decision?