Paige VanZant is taking off the MMA gloves.
The former UFC fighter on Wednesday announced that she signed a four-fight contract with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. The deal is worth more than $1 million, with incentives attached, according to ESPN.
“It was an amazing contract, an amazing opportunity,” VanZant told ESPN. “I also feel like it’s not a move backwards for me. It’s a lateral move to a new opportunity, a new challenge, a brand new sport. I really have sparked a brand new passion for it and especially for striking in general.”
The deal had been in the works since at least late July.
The 26-year-old most recently fought in July, losing to Amanda Ribas at UFC 251, a comeback following 18 months of injury setbacks. The bout fulfilled her UFC contract, leaving her with a 5-4 record with the outfit and 8-5 overall.
VanZant has made headlines outside the octagon as well, going on a nude photo-posting spree with Bellator fighter boyfriend Austin Vanderford during the spring and appearing in the 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. She also reached the finals of “Dancing With the Stars” in 2016, an experience she said paid her better than her UFC deal.
Despite her success in other avenues, VanZant isn’t looking to leave combat sports any time soon.
“I feel like I still have this stigma in MMA that I’m just a pretty face, and what a way to prove to people that’s not the way I see myself at all,” she told ESPN. “This is a sport where people probably have the highest rate of getting cut open and having long-term scars is definitely something that I’m not even worried about for me. It’s just the love of competition and I’m really excited to go out there and show off in such an amazing sport.”
BKFC wasn’t alone in trying to add VanZant to its roster, with the fighter saying she her suitors including the likes of Bellator and ONE.
“I talked to a lot of different promotions,” VanZant said. “I actually had no idea that I would have so many come with such big offers. I knew I would get the big players in the game, like Bellator or ONE, but I actually had five or six huge, solid promotions that I had to decide on. For me, at this moment in my career, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship was the one that fit best.”