Yesterday news broke that former UFC strawweright/flyweight Paige VanZant had signed a multi-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). It has been claimed that VanZant turned down an offer from Bellator to sign a supposed multi-million dollar deal with the bare knuckle promotion.
BKFC President Mike Feldman spoke to MMA Fighting about his newest, and most sensational, acquisition.
“It tells people we’re serious,” said Feldman. “We’re not out there throwing money around stupidly and making bad decisions. We spend money on things we think can help the company grow, and Paige VanZant, with 4 million followers on her social media accounts, can help us grow.”
Feldman revealed that he expects VanZant to enter the BKFC ring in November. He also said that his promotion will sign two dozen more female fighters to bolster the divisions VanZant could fight in.
Feldman stated that the wants to book VanZant in a manner that best showcases the former Dancing With The Stars finalist’s skill-set—something he feels the UFC failed to do.
“I think she was not set up in bad positions, but not set up in the perfect conditions in the past, and we’re going to set her up for success. I can’t throw Paige into the lion’s den the first fight. We have to do something that’s going to get her comfortable with this, and then the competition is going to get stiffer. But at the beginning, I think it’s a great way to build her.”
Despite hinting at giving VanZant favorable match-ups, Feldman made sure to talk up his new star’s fighting prowess.
“She can fight,” he said. “She definitely has good hands. She has good knockouts under her belt. At the end of this deal, we’ve hopefully built her up as a superstar and we can extend with her.”
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