Last year, BKFC made waves in the combat sports world when they signed Paige VanZant (0-2). VanZant was a decent fighter in the UFC, but she was a star on social media and even competed on Dancing With The Stars.
PVZ had a decent run in the UFC, but when her contract ran out last year, she was one of the hottest free agents on the market. Bellator was seen as the early favorite, but BKFC came out of no where with a massive offer.
The offer supposedly pays VanZant more than 10 times what she was making in the UFC. VanZant signed the deal with BKFC and it took everyone by surprise. From a business standpoint, it was a great move by BKFC.
The promotion is still seeking mainstream appeal and they saw VanZant as the ticket to that mainstream appeal. However, PVZ was going to have to do her part by winning. The promotion was hoping to make her the face of the promotion.
PVZ’s Rocky BKFC Start
Things have not gone according to plan for PVZ or BKFC. VanZant made her debut back in February when she faced off against Britain Hart. She lost that fight and it was pretty one-sided on the scorecards.Â
She then took on Rachael Ostovich at BKFC 19. The two ladies had fought in the UFC with VanZant picking up the win. However, Ostovich was able to defeat VanZant at BKFC 19 handing PVZ her second straight loss.
After the loss, VanZant stormed out of the ring and didn’t attend the post-fight press conference. This didn’t sit well with Dave Feldman who is the president of BKFC.
He sat down with MMA Fighting this week and made it clear that VanZant is in a must-win situation. In addition to voicing some frustration in her not attending the press conference, Feldman said, “I can’t keep saying ‘she fought really good, now let’s see what happens next time.’ She has to come out with a victory.â€
It’s clear that VanZant’s next fight with BKFC is going to be a do-or-die situation. If she loses her third straight in Bare Knuckle, the promotion will likely close the chapter on PVZ in BKFC.