AEW’s Paige VanZant to headline Bare Knuckle FC event this July
New AEW signee Paige VanZant is set to headline a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event this summer.
BKFC has announced that VanZant will headline the promotion’s show at Alexandra Palace in London on Saturday, July 9. An opponent for VanZant has yet to be revealed.
This will be VanZant’s third fight since making her bare-knuckle boxing debut for BKFC. It’s the final fight on her current BKFC contract.
VanZant has yet to get her first BKFC win. She’s lost fights against Britain Hart and Rachael Ostovich.
On an episode of Dynamite earlier this month, it was officially confirmed that VanZant has signed a pro wrestling contract with AEW. She’s appeared for the promotion as part of Dan Lambert’s American Top Team stable. After VanZant signed with AEW, BKFC stated that VanZant was still under contract with them and that BKFC and AEW would work together to build her career.
During an interview on MMA Fighting’s The Fighter vs. The Writer, VanZant said that her focus right now is on both pro wrestling and bare-knuckle boxing.
“[My management team] really changed my life so I could sit down and say, ‘OK, Paige, what do you want to do with your time and your life and your career?’ I’m so fortunate having that management team on my side, and so now I’m doing exactly what I want to do,” VanZant said.
“I want to fight for AEW. I want to fight for BKFC. Contract is open-ended so I could still do MMA at the same time. I love MMA and I know my door’s definitely not closed on MMA, but at the same time, my passion really is pro wrestling and bare-knuckle boxing right now.”
VanZant told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour this week that, in a perfect world, she would make her AEW in-ring debut in the next few months. She’s training for pro wrestling at Coastal Championship Wrestling in Florida. The school is run by David “Gangrel” Heath.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.