Tag: Paige VanZant

Paige VanZant vs. Britain Hart Set For February 5

Paige VanZantPaige VanZant is set to make her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut opposite Britain Hart on February 5 according to MMA Fighting. The report came soon after VanZant took to social media to confirm she has signed a bout agreement but stopped short of revealing who her opponent will be or what date her BKFC […]

Paige VanZant

Paige VanZant is set to make her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut opposite Britain Hart on February 5 according to MMA Fighting.

The report came soon after VanZant took to social media to confirm she has signed a bout agreement but stopped short of revealing who her opponent will be or what date her BKFC debut will fall on.

“Best of 2020 is this picture right here,” VanZant wrote on Instagram. “Bout agreement signed for my @bareknucklefc debut. February 5th baby!!!! Let’s go!!”

‘PVZ’ shocked many in the MMA world by turning her back on the sport to pursue a career in bare-knuckle boxing. The popular fighter has previously insisted her decision was not motivated by money rather a desire to prove her toughness.

“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.”

“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.”

Do you think Paige VanZant will be victorious in her BKFC debut?

Paige VanZant’s BKFC Debut Date And Opponent Set

Paige VanZant now has a date and opponent for her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut. Last summer, it was announced that Paige Vanzant will be transitioning from MMA star to becoming possibly the new face of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship…

Paige VanZant now has a date and opponent for her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut. Last summer, it was announced that Paige Vanzant will be transitioning from MMA star to becoming possibly the new face of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). VanZant was expected to make her BKFC debut in November, but after the […]

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

Paige VanZantPaige 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

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

StarrBare 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 […]

Starr

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 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].“ 

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.”

The Biggest MMA Turkeys of 2020

Is it too much for me to hope that, this year, the turkey-pardoning jokes will make themselves? The answer is no. No, it’s not too much to hope. So let us now jump right into the list of the biggest MMA turkeys of this fine, fine year 2020…

Is it too much for me to hope that, this year, the turkey-pardoning jokes will make themselves? The answer is no. No, it’s not too much to hope. So let us now jump right into the list of the biggest MMA turkeys of this fine, fine year 2020…

Paige VanZant BKFC Debut Set For Super Bowl Weekend

Paige VanZantFormer UFC star Paige VanZant is set to make her bare-knuckle fighting debut, with a date finally being announced. On Wednesday, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship President David Feldman confirmed plans for VanZant to make her first appearance in the organization at a planned card on Super Bowl weekend in February 2021. “Yeah we’re going to […]

Paige VanZant

Former UFC star Paige VanZant is set to make her bare-knuckle fighting debut, with a date finally being announced.

On Wednesday, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship President David Feldman confirmed plans for VanZant to make her first appearance in the organization at a planned card on Super Bowl weekend in February 2021.

“Yeah we’re going to do the Friday before the Super Bowl, right around the Super Bowl, where it’s going to be,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “It’s going to be a great event for us. We’re going to do Friday, Feb. 5, Paige VanZant, that will be her debut for us.”

Super Bowl LV is currently scheduled for Feb. 7 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

The promotion understandably wants to be around for the massive amount of media already in Florida for the Super Bowl

“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 said. “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.”

While an opponent is still to be determined, Feldman also confirmed that VanZant will be on one of the top spots on the card, although these details have yet to be finalized.

“She’ll definitely be in the top two [fights],” Feldman said. “Either the main event or the co-main event, we’re not 100 percent sure yet. It depends on who takes what fight. We’re going to know that in the next two or three weeks.”

“Once we have that card completely solidified, we’ll make that decision, but she’s got to be near the top of it or at the top because she’s going to be in every combat sports headline around for that one. So we have to give her her due.”

VanZant inked a very newsworthy multi-fight deal with BKFC following the end of her UFC contract earlier this year. While the veteran strawweight and flyweight fighter had offers from numerous organizations, she ultimately decided that she wanted to test herself in bare-knuckle competition by signing with BKFC.

With VanZant’s debut three months away, Feldman says the organization is beginning to ramp up promotion as VanZant prepares to fight for them for the first time.

“She’s training really, really hard,” Feldman said. “We’re going to do a special series about her. 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.”

Certainly an exciting time for VanZant and the BKFC promotion, hoping to capitalize on Super Bowl weekend with VanZant’s massive media appeal.

How do you think Paige VanZant will fare in her debut for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship?