UFC Veteran Paige VanZant Signs With All Elite Wrestling

Paige VanZantPaige VanZant has signed a deal with professional wrestling outfit All Elite Wrestling (AEW) the promotion’s president Tony Khan announced on Wednesday night. “Wanted to give the world one more reason to hate on me: PVZ TAKING OVER!!!!,” VanZant tweeted after the news broke. ‘PVZ’ first began appearing late last year alongside American Top Team coach Dan Lambert, […]

Paige VanZant

Paige VanZant has signed a deal with professional wrestling outfit All Elite Wrestling (AEW) the promotion’s president Tony Khan announced on Wednesday night.

“Wanted to give the world one more reason to hate on me: PVZ TAKING OVER!!!!,” VanZant tweeted after the news broke.

‘PVZ’ first began appearing late last year alongside American Top Team coach Dan Lambert, as well as some of the gym’s more notable names including Jorge Masvidal and Junior dos Santos.

The group would initially feud with AEW superstars Chris Jericho and Jake Hager before VanZant later targeted wrestler, Brandi Rhoades.

On Wednesday, VanZant came out of the crowd at Dynamite to attack wrestler Tay Conti – the real-life girlfriend of Sammy Guevara.

After beating up the judo black belt who spent time in the WWE, VanZant signed her contract with AEW live on air.

Is Paige VanZant Done With MMA & Bare Knuckle Boxing?

VanZant captivated the fans and the media when she burst onto the scene at 20 years old. After just one fight with the promotion, she became just the sixth fighter to land an individualized Reebok deal, with Dana White claiming she had the ‘it factor.’

By 2020, VanZant was ready to leave the UFC after going 5-4 with the company. Soon after her departure from MMA’s premier promotion, the 27-year-old signed a lucrative contract with bare-knuckle boxing outfit Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

VanZant has struggled in BKFC, losing both of her fights with the company. It’s believed she will fight at least one more time for the promotion but at this point, she appears more interested in other things than fighting.

The Dundee, Oregon native has launched her own website which apparently pays better than the UFC ever did. Now, she’s pursuing a career in professional wrestling.

Do you think Paige VanZant is done competing in combat sports?

Paige VanZant Details First Meeting With “Mega Star” Conor McGregor

Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant knew right away that Conor McGregor was going to be special in MMA from the first time they met. McGregor is anticipating a return to the Octagon later this year after suffering a nasty leg break at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier. It’s unclear who he’ll face in his return,…

Continue Reading Paige VanZant Details First Meeting With “Mega Star” Conor McGregor at MMA News.

Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant knew right away that Conor McGregor was going to be special in MMA from the first time they met.

McGregor is anticipating a return to the Octagon later this year after suffering a nasty leg break at UFC 264 against Dustin Poirier. It’s unclear who he’ll face in his return, but a few names including Michael Chandler have thrown their name into the conversation.

McGregor is arguably the biggest and most important star in the history of the UFC, dating back to his promotional debut win over Marcus Brimage in 2013. He has earned multiple world titles with the promotion and topped Forbes’ highest-paid athletes list in 2021.

VanZant plans to visit McGregor’s Black Forge Inn pub while in Ireland as her husband, Austin Vanderford, faces Gegard Mousasi in the Bellator 275 headliner in Dublin. During a recent Q+A session on her Instagram page, she spoke about the first time she came face-to-face with the Irish superstar.

“I remember meeting him and telling my dad he was a fight genius and that he was going to be a mega-star,” VanZant said. “That is like No.1 on our list of things to do in Ireland. I know [Austin’s] dad, his step-dad, and my dad are all extremely excited to go to Conor McGregor ’s bar.” (h/t Mirror)

VanZant was let go by the UFC in 2020 following losses in three of her last four fights with the promotion. She has since signed with Bare Knuckle FC and has yet to earn her first win in the ring, falling to Britain Hart and Rachael Ostovich.

Like VanZant, McGregor is looking to get back in the win column after losses in three of his last four appearances. His lone win since 2018 came against Donald Cerrone at welterweight at UFC 246.

What was your first impression of Conor McGregor?

Continue Reading Paige VanZant Details First Meeting With “Mega Star” Conor McGregor at MMA News.

Paige VanZant’s Next BKFC Opponent Revealed For August 20

Paige VanZant has a date and a name to prepare for ahead of her BKFC return. Coming off back-to-back losses, VanZant will make her return to the BKFC on August 20 in the main event. The event will take place at Wembley Arena in London, England. Her opp…

Paige VanZant has a date and a name to prepare for ahead of her BKFC return. Coming off back-to-back losses, VanZant will make her return to the BKFC on August 20 in the main event. The event will take place at Wembley Arena in London, England. Her opponent will be Charisa Sigala. Sigala has a…

Continue Reading Paige VanZant’s Next BKFC Opponent Revealed For August 20 at MMA News.

Paige VanZant Signs With AEW

Paige VanZant is All Elite. After weeks of casual involvement with the pro wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling, Paige VanZant put pen to paper and officially joined the promotion’s roster during a segment on AEW Dynamite Wednesday. During the segment, VanZant landed a roundhouse kick to wrestler Tay Conti and then signed the AEW contract….

Continue Reading Paige VanZant Signs With AEW at MMA News.

Paige VanZant is All Elite.

After weeks of casual involvement with the pro wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling, Paige VanZant put pen to paper and officially joined the promotion’s roster during a segment on AEW Dynamite Wednesday.

During the segment, VanZant landed a roundhouse kick to wrestler Tay Conti and then signed the AEW contract. You can check out the tail end of this segment below.

And if you’re wondering if the contract is “kayfabe,” company president Tony Khan confirmed on Twitter that “12 Gauge” is indeed now a part of the AEW roster.

Paige VanZant will continue working on her pro wrestling skills at Coastal Championship Wrestling in Pompano Beach, Florida, according to Marc Raimondi. She will train under coach David Heath, best known as Gangrel from WWE’s Attitude Era.

There is currently no word on how long the contract is for or whether VanZant will work in a full-time capacity.

VanZant began making appearances in All Elite Wrestling last year along with the start of her BKFC run, where she went 0-2. Since the UFC, VanZant has continued to see financial success, and she is now committed to the colorful world of professional wrestling.

She joins the growing list of UFC fighters to appear on AEW. Notable names such as former UFC champions Vitor Belfort, Junior dos Santos, and Andrei Arlovski have appeared on AEW programming as well. She is the first, however, to formally join the promotion’s roster.

AEW signing notwithstanding, VanZant is still a part of the BKFC roster as well. Company president David Feldman expects the former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model to compete before the end of summer. It is unclear who will be her opponent, but he has already deemed the fight to be a must-win for the 0-2 VanZant.

What are your thoughts on Paige VanZant storming the ring at AEW Dynamite?

Continue Reading Paige VanZant Signs With AEW at MMA News.

Paige VanZant Attacks Brandi Rhoades, Sparks Brawl During AEW Apperance

paige vanzantFormer UFC fighter, Paige VanZant continues her stint in professional wrestling as she scraps with All Elite Wrestling star Brandi Rhoades. Paige Vanzant continued her relationship with the wrestling promotion  AEW, as she made yet another appearance last night. VanZant first began appearing late last year alongside American Top Team coach Dan Lambert, as well […]

paige vanzant

Former UFC fighter, Paige VanZant continues her stint in professional wrestling as she scraps with All Elite Wrestling star Brandi Rhoades.

Paige Vanzant continued her relationship with the wrestling promotion  AEW, as she made yet another appearance last night. VanZant first began appearing late last year alongside American Top Team coach Dan Lambert, as well as some of the gym’s more notable names including Jorge Masvidal and Junior dos Santos.

The group would initially feud with AEW superstars Chris Jericho and Jake Hager but last night VanZant targeted wrestler, Brandi Rhoades.

Vanzant would burst from backstage, attacking Rhoades which led to numerous wrestlers running from backstage and brawling in the ring.

Paige VanZant Journey To Professional Wrestling

As soon as VanZant entered the UFC she had an immediate impact, captivating both fan and media attention alike. At just 20 years old with one win in the UFC, the 4-1 VanZant became just the sixth fighter to sign to land an individualized Reebok deal, with Dana White claiming she had the ‘it factor.’

To put into perspective how much of a big deal this was, the five fighters who signed the deal before her were Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, Jon Jones, Johnny Hendricks and Ronda Rousey.

Although VanZant had all the makings of a star, her UFC career did not pan out as well as many had hoped. ’12 Gauge’ would ultimately go 4-5 in the promotion before she unexpectedly signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, reportedly a deal worth over $1 million.

VanZant has gone 0-2 in the promotion but has seen her gain great exposure and has also branched out into other avenues.

VanZant has now modeled, commentated, presented, and competed in professional wrestling.

VanZant has done something which a lot of fighters find very difficult, carving a promising career for herself outside of the UFC

Would you like to see Paige VanZant return to MMA?

Archives: Vanzant On Herrig: We’re Fighting Because We’re Hot (2015)

In 2015, Paige VanZant shared her thoughts on why a fight against Felice Herrig was inevitable. Before we get to that, here’s a quick glimpse back to the two coming face to face prior to their bout at UFC on FOX 15.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?…

Felice Herrig, Paige VanZant

In 2015, Paige VanZant shared her thoughts on why a fight against Felice Herrig was inevitable. Before we get to that, here’s a quick glimpse back to the two coming face to face prior to their bout at UFC on FOX 15.

Vanzant would win the fight via unanimous decision to advance to 5-1 at the time. As for her theory on why the two were bound to fight? You can revisit that in the article below that we ran seven years ago to this day.

The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

On This Day Seven Years Ago…

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 23, 2015, 1:16 PM]

Headline: Paige VanZant On Felice Herrig: “We’re Fighting Because We’re The Hot Girls In The Sport”

Author: Matt Boone

Rising UFC Women’s Strawweight contender Paige VanZant recently appeared on “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com to discuss her upcoming UFC On FOX 15 bout with Felice Herrig.

“I always had on the back of my mind that me and Felice would fight, because we’re the hot girls in the sport,” said VanZant. “So I kind of got myself ready for that.”

VanZant, who is one of a handful of Women’s MMA fighters who uses her sexuality to her advantage when it comes to marketing also spoke about how she looks up to Herrig.

“She’s been around for a long time, and she’s been somewhat of a veteran in the sport,” said VanZant. “Just to be fighting her, and to be at her level in as honor. I looked up to her when I first started the sport. She was someone who I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”

VanZant concluded, “Now to be on the same playing field and the same level as her, it’s exciting. I’m really excited about this fight.”

Headlined by Lyoto Machida vs. Luke Rockhold, UFC On FOX 15 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 18th from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Related Link:
– Check out a full Paige VanZant photo gallery by clicking here.

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