Paige VanZant to fight ‘well-known name’ in summer as BKFC chief says ex-UFC star ‘worth everything’ of lucrative deal
PAIGE VANZANT will take on a 'well-known name' in her second Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship outing, the promotion's president Dave Feldman has revealed.
The former UFC strawweight made her BKFC debut earlier this month against Britain Hart, suffering a unanimous decision loss to the pro boxer.
But the 26-year-old is set to perform a quick turnaround and get back in the ring early in the summer.
Feldman told : “I can confidently say Paige VanZant absolutely will be back with us here in early to mid-summer.
"100 percent. We are 100 percent in the Paige VanZant business.
“We like being in that business. She delivered for us on every aspect we needed and finished the fight strong so that was very important for us."
VanZant inked a multi-million-pound deal with BKFC last summer after being released by the UFC following her submission loss to Amanda Ribas.
Despite VanZant coming up short in her promotional bow, Feldman insists BKFC's acquisition of the American Top Team standout has so far been a success.
BET OF THE DAY: BEST PRICES ON THE MARKET FOR PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ACTION
He said: “Some people looked at me crazy ‘you’re paying her too much, you’re doing this, you’re doing that.'
“I said, 'Look I don’t know everything but I know what I’m doing on this stuff and she delivered.'
"She delivered on every aspect that we needed her to deliver on.
“She was worth everything that we gave her and it’s a great partnership.
"She did everything we wanted her to do and we did everything she wanted us to do. We definitely have a win-win relationship.
Most read in MMA
“I said in all my interviews and I said to you, I really take my hat off to her because she didn’t have to do this.
"Now I take my hat off to her even more because she definitely doesn’t have to do this again.
“She’s doing it and she really wants to prove herself and that’s the kind of person that I wanted to be in business with, the kind of person I have a lot of respect for."
Feldman is looking forward to seeing how PVZ bounces back from her latest setback and fully expects her to level up in her next fight.
He said: "I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do. I think she’s going to adapt a lot more.
"I think she’s really going to take a step up in her next fight.”