Paige VanZant is currently in negotiations with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship after her contract with the UFC expired. News of the discussions between VanZant and BKFC were first reported by Mike Russell on Twitter.
She last fought in MMA’s premier promotion at UFC 251, suffering a quick submission loss against rising star, Amanda Ribas.
Eric Kowal of MyMMANews.com, who also works for BKFC, clarified that, although preliminary talks are underway, a deal is a long way off.
“There’s a lot of amazing organizations out there,” VanZant told the South China Morning Post in April. “If there wasn’t, I would never be testing free agency. I do honestly have a really good relationship with the UFC. I appreciate everything they’ve done for me. The hard thing is, other than my compensation, I am very happy with the UFC. So it’s not going to be as crazy as a negotiation process as a lot of people think. There’s a lot to talk about, but I think it’s going to be a fairly easy conversation.
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“Change is very hard, but I’m looking for the best opportunity for my future and I don’t know what that is,” VanZant added. “I think it’s going to take negotiations with the UFC and negotiations with other organizations to know who’s going to offer me a brighter future. It might come down to other factors outside just a dollar figure. It’s really about who’s going to propel me to the best of their ability.”
