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MMA sensation Paige VanZant is one of the biggest names in the world of combat sports. The fighter recently signed a contract with the professional wrestling league, AEW. 

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Paige VanZant was at the AEW show with her husband, Austin Vanderford, in the audience at AEW Dynamite on March 9th. The BKFC fighter attacked pro wrestler Tay Conti at ringside and assisted the current TNT champion, Scorpio Sky, to win the TNT title. She signed her new AEW contract on the body of Tay Conti when she was down.

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In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, VanZant detailed her new contract with AEW and spoke about her current position with her prior contract with BKFC.

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VanZant said, “Pro wrestling’s been something I’ve wanted to get into for a very long time, but I’ve had prior contracts that didn’t allow that. Luckily now I’m with BKFC. I’m still a professional bare-knuckle boxer with BKFC. They couldn’t have been more supportive, so they’re actually supporting this transition as well. I’ll still be doing bare-knuckle boxing with BKFC and doing the AEW.” 

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“They allowed me to have an open-ended contract where I could go compete and be a part of AEW and pro wrestling. So that was a big push just having their support throughout the entire thing and I know that they’re going to help build the AEW and vice versa,” she added.

Vanzant has been with the BKFC ever since she signed a multi-million dollar contract with the promotion in August 2020. The fighter has had two bouts with the BKFC and has lost both via decision.

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Read More: How Much Money Does Paige VanZant Make?

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Will Paige VanZant leave the BKFC?

Pro wrestling requires constant engagement and promotion with fans and now that VanZant is a part of AEW, she will most likely be doing these on a regular basis. Whereas, MMA as a sport, requires a lot of training, discipline, time and commitment for fights.

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VanZant currently has one fight left on her BKFC contract. In her interview with ESPN, Vanzant confirmed that she will still be fighting with the Bare-Knuckle fighting championship. 

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She said,” I have no plans of leaving their organization (BKFC’s). I do want to do MMA still, and I do see my future in MMA. I’m 27 years old. I’m just getting my feet wet in the AEW professional wrestling world.”

What do you think of VanZant’s new contract with AEW? DO you think she’ll have the time to compete in MMA while doing pro wrestling? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Pranit Punjabi

581 Articles

Pranit Punjabi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. A third-year psychology major, this Justin Gaethje fan merged his interest in psychology with his deep passion for MMA and was intrigued by this new angle to help him get closer to the action. Pranit aims to look through the violence and chaos, into what makes MMA truly beautiful, the deep and rich psychological aspect of the game. He hopes to capture the mental spirit of the fighters - their discipline, eccentricities, background, and grit. Apart from MMA, Pranit enjoys soccer and is an ardent supporter of Chelsea FC. Aside from his professional pursuits, he enjoys gaming and writing music.

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