UFC’s Got Talent: 12 Stars With Skills Beyond Fighting

The sport of mixed martial arts requires not only talent and technique, but also years of struggle and sacrifice, with fighters more often than not structuring their entire lives around the countless hours required to hone their craft in the endless pursuit of excellence. However, an ability to fight at the highest level in the

The post UFC’s Got Talent: 12 Stars With Skills Beyond Fighting appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The sport of mixed martial arts requires not only talent and technique, but also years of struggle and sacrifice, with fighters more often than not structuring their entire lives around the countless hours required to hone their craft in the endless pursuit of excellence.

However, an ability to fight at the highest level in the Octagon in front of millions of fans around the world is not the only thing that defines many of these men and women, and the diversity of interests and skills that they possess outside of the Octagon shatters the age-old stereotype that fighters are just a bunch of knuckle-dragging meatheads.

In this article we’ll look at 12 fighters whose talents extend beyond fighting into all manner of different areas of expertise.

From extreme sports enthusiasts to the artistically inclined and even a few self-confessed nerds, you’ll be left in no doubt that the UFC’s got talent.

The post UFC’s Got Talent: 12 Stars With Skills Beyond Fighting appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Paige VanZant Turns Down Offer To Appear At WWE SummerSlam Pay-Per-View

paige-vanzant

It looks like UFC Women’s Strawweight contender and “Dancing With The Stars” runner-up Paige VanZant will not be appearing at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August.

It was rumored recently that WWE was interested in having VanZant, and potentially additional UFC stars, involved in a segment at their annual SummerSlam event, which is scheduled to feature Brock Lesnar’s WWE return following his Octagon comeback against Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

On Thursday, however, UFC announced VanZant’s next Octagon assignment, her first fight since competing on “Dancing With The Stars,” as she will fight TUF veteran Bec Rawlings at the UFC On FOX 21 event in August. According to VanZant, she would be interested in doing something with WWE in the future, but as far as August is concerned, her focus is on her fight with Rawlings.

“Fighting definitely comes first.” She added, “Right now I’m 100 percent fight-focused and I would love to participate in anything the WWE has to offer when the timing’s right as long as it works with my fight schedule. I love WWE and if they ever reached out to me again I would love to work with them but right now I’m focused on Bec Rawlings.”

The VanZant-Rawlings bout joins Anthony Pettis’ UFC featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira as two of the officially announced bouts for the UFC On FOX 21 event, which goes down live from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on August 27.

paige-vanzant

It looks like UFC Women’s Strawweight contender and “Dancing With The Stars” runner-up Paige VanZant will not be appearing at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August.

It was rumored recently that WWE was interested in having VanZant, and potentially additional UFC stars, involved in a segment at their annual SummerSlam event, which is scheduled to feature Brock Lesnar’s WWE return following his Octagon comeback against Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

On Thursday, however, UFC announced VanZant’s next Octagon assignment, her first fight since competing on “Dancing With The Stars,” as she will fight TUF veteran Bec Rawlings at the UFC On FOX 21 event in August. According to VanZant, she would be interested in doing something with WWE in the future, but as far as August is concerned, her focus is on her fight with Rawlings.

“Fighting definitely comes first.” She added, “Right now I’m 100 percent fight-focused and I would love to participate in anything the WWE has to offer when the timing’s right as long as it works with my fight schedule. I love WWE and if they ever reached out to me again I would love to work with them but right now I’m focused on Bec Rawlings.”

The VanZant-Rawlings bout joins Anthony Pettis’ UFC featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira as two of the officially announced bouts for the UFC On FOX 21 event, which goes down live from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on August 27.

Paige VanZant Set To Return At UFC On FOX 21

Following her first-ever UFC loss to Rose Namajunas and a successful stint on “Dancing With The Stars” where she finished in second place, popular women’s strawweight Paige VanZant is set to return to fighting. “12 Gauge” announced on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” today (Wed., June 23, 2016) that she will fight Bec Rawlings at August 21’s UFC on

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Following her first-ever UFC loss to Rose Namajunas and a successful stint on “Dancing With The Stars” where she finished in second place, popular women’s strawweight Paige VanZant is set to return to fighting.

“12 Gauge” announced on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” today (Wed., June 23, 2016) that she will fight Bec Rawlings at August 21’s UFC on FOX 21 from Vancouver, British Columbia. VanZant stated her excitement for the bout:

“I am so excited about this match-up. I think it’s perfect. Especially coming back into the UFC after being away with ‘Dancing with the Stars’,” said VanZant. “I love Canada… I can’t wait for this one.”

VanZant will look to rebound from a dominant submission loss to surging contender Rose Namajunas in the main event of UFC Fight Night 80 last December, the first stoppage loss of her MMA career. With holes to fix and haters to prove wrong, VanZant said the time of “Dancing With The Stars” helped her be rid of some prior nagging injuries from training:

“The few nagging injuries I had in my two previous UFC fights are completely gone, because I haven’t done the impact training, the head-on collisions,” VanZant said. “It actually really helped. It was great cardio and kept me in shape… I really miss MMA and the UFC.”

The 22-year-old fan favorite was also reported to have signed on for a significant role in the upcoming martial arts film “Kickboxer: Retaliation,” but has instead turned down the part in order to focus on training.

She’ll face an opponent with more momentum in Rawlings, who recently secured her second straight UFC win by defeating Seohee Ham at March 20’s UFC Fight Night 85 after submitting Lisa Ellis at UFC Fight Night 65 in her native Australia last May. The win streak comes at a pivotal time for the Aussie, as she lost her UFC debut to Heather Jo Clark at the The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 20 Finale in late 2014.

But VanZant still holds the higher ranking at No. 10 over the unranked Rawlings, making this a vital statement bout for both women.

UFC on FOX 21 also features the featherweight debut of former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, who will meet Brazilian jiu-jitsu wiz Charles Oliveira.

The post Paige VanZant Set To Return At UFC On FOX 21 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Photo: Paige VanZant Enjoying The Beaches Of Mexico

As she prepares for both her film debut and return to the Octagon, Paige VanZant is also getting in some “R&R.”

That includes a little vacation in Mexico, to which she posted this picture Tuesday night:

[embed]https://twitter.com/PaigeVanza…

paige-vanzant-bikini

As she prepares for both her film debut and return to the Octagon, Paige VanZant is also getting in some “R&R.”

That includes a little vacation in Mexico, to which she posted this picture Tuesday night:

Report: Following Lesnar Fight At UFC 200, WWE Hoping To Get Rousey Match At WrestleMania 33

lesnar-rousey

It looks like Paige VanZant isn’t the only well-known UFC female fighter that WWE has their eye on.

Anthony DiMoro posted an article at Yahoo! Sports that claims former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and one-time WrestleMania guest Ronda Rousey is “at the top of WWE’s list” of talent they want to use from the UFC in exchange for allowing Brock Lesnar to fight Mark Hunt at the UFC’s upcoming landmark UFC 200 event in July.

DiMoro’s article stated the following about WWE hoping to secure a Rousey appearance at next year’s WrestleMania 33 pay-per-view:

According to sources, WWE is hoping that by allowing Lesnar to compete at UFC 200 (and perhaps beyond) it will open the doors for some things in return from UFC. Mainly WWE is hopeful for two things in return.

For one, they are hoping not only to get additional promotion for ‘SummerSlam’, likely at UFC 200, but are also looking to get UFC stars to appear at the event.

WWE is also hopeful that they will be allowed to use Ronda Rousey at ‘WrestleMania 33′ in Orlando, Florida. While her in-ring segment at ‘WrestleMania 31′ with ‘The Rock’, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H was a memorable moment, WWE is hoping they can secure Rousey for an actual match at their biggest event of the year.

As noted earlier this week, it’s also being reported that WWE is hoping to get Paige VanZant and/or other top UFC female fighters involved in a segment at their upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view in August, which Lesnar is also scheduled to be a part of.

lesnar-rousey

It looks like Paige VanZant isn’t the only well-known UFC female fighter that WWE has their eye on.

Anthony DiMoro posted an article at Yahoo! Sports that claims former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and one-time WrestleMania guest Ronda Rousey is “at the top of WWE’s list” of talent they want to use from the UFC in exchange for allowing Brock Lesnar to fight Mark Hunt at the UFC’s upcoming landmark UFC 200 event in July.

DiMoro’s article stated the following about WWE hoping to secure a Rousey appearance at next year’s WrestleMania 33 pay-per-view:

According to sources, WWE is hoping that by allowing Lesnar to compete at UFC 200 (and perhaps beyond) it will open the doors for some things in return from UFC. Mainly WWE is hopeful for two things in return.

For one, they are hoping not only to get additional promotion for ‘SummerSlam’, likely at UFC 200, but are also looking to get UFC stars to appear at the event.

WWE is also hopeful that they will be allowed to use Ronda Rousey at ‘WrestleMania 33? in Orlando, Florida. While her in-ring segment at ‘WrestleMania 31? with ‘The Rock’, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H was a memorable moment, WWE is hoping they can secure Rousey for an actual match at their biggest event of the year.

As noted earlier this week, it’s also being reported that WWE is hoping to get Paige VanZant and/or other top UFC female fighters involved in a segment at their upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view in August, which Lesnar is also scheduled to be a part of.

Report: WWE Looking To Get UFC Female Fighters Involved At SummerSlam PPV In August

Apparently WWE is working on getting some of UFC’s better-known and more recognizable female fighters to make an appearance of some kind at their upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August, which will also feature the return of WWE/UFC crossover …

paige-vanzant-weigh-in

Apparently WWE is working on getting some of UFC’s better-known and more recognizable female fighters to make an appearance of some kind at their upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August, which will also feature the return of WWE/UFC crossover athlete, Brock Lesnar.

According to a report at pro wrestling insider website PWInsider.com, WWE has had recent discussions about getting some UFC female fighters to interact with their female WWE Superstars in some type of segment during the SummerSlam event, which is essentially WWE’s “WrestleMania” event for the summer.

Apparently WWE specifically has their eye on UFC Women’s Strawweight contender Paige VanZant, who just finished second on the most recent season of the hit reality television show, “Dancing With The Stars.”

One would assume that other names WWE would like to have involved would include current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate, former champion Holly Holm, UFC contender and Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, and any of the Four Horsewomen, which consists of Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir, Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke.

It should be noted, however, that none of the aforementioned fighters were specifically mentioned in any reports, outside of VanZant.

With current WWE Superstar Lesnar returning to the UFC for a fight against number eight ranked Heavyweight contender Mark Hunt at the landmark UFC 200 event in July, one would assume that the door is open for negotiations between the UFC and WWE for some type of UFC involvement at the WWE SummerSlam event in August, which as noted, will also feature Lesnar.

WWE SummerSlam is scheduled for Sunday, August 21, 2016 in Brooklyn, New York.