Paige VanZant is Not Closing The Door on MMA Yet
Paige VanZant faces Britain Hart this weekend at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) “KnuckleMania” this weekend in Tampa, Florida. The former UFC flyweight made a name for herself in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) and this will be her debut in the sport of bare-knuckle boxing. While she has focused her training for the upcoming fight, VanZant says she has not completely closed the door on MMA.
“It’s a completely different sport.” VanZant told TMZ Sports, “Like, I train every day, but I’m not doing jiu-jitsu. I was doing a little bit when I first got to American Top Team, but once I got a fight contract signed, it’s straight boxing every single day all the time.” Focusing on boxing in preparation for the match against Hart makes sense but apparently, her contract allows her to do MMA again if she wants to.
VanZant admitted that when initially signing with the BKFC, she was not aware that the promotion would be alright with her taking an MMA fight if there was an opportunity to do so. “They did give me the liberty in my contract to be able to take an MMA fight, ” said VanZant. She added, “I was informed of that by my manager, and I didn’t know that at first but we’re getting into it my manager’s like, ‘Oh well did you know you have that freedom?’”
Apparently, VanZant was willing to focus on just boxing but getting that information from her manager and training with an MMA gym like American Top Team she said, “It kind of rebirthed like my excitement and I now realize how good I am. I’m training with these coaches who believe in me.” The feedback from the coaches has helped VanZant be excited about fighting again, and while she is focused on fighting for the BKFC, it has “sparked her passion all over the place,” according to VanZant.
VanZant said, “I’m strictly focused on the boxing right now. Especially for this fight that’s all I do, but maybe. we’ll see. The door is open.”
Order and watch KnuckleMania below:
