Paige VanZant has been pulled out of her bare-knuckle fight against Charis Sigala at BKFC London this Saturday but insists the decision was out of her control.
Former UFC star VanZant was looking to pick up her first bare-knuckle win against Sigala at the event having lost her first two fights. She signed a multi-million dollar deal with BKFC two years ago, but hasn't hit the ground running in the promotion after losing decisions to Britain Hart and Rachael Ostovich.
'12 Gauge' was scheduled to compete in the co-main event of BKFC London this Saturday at the Wembley Arena and she admitted she was "heartbroken" after being withdrawn from the event. "I did not pull [out] from my fight!!!! I was pulled! I am p***ed off and heartbroken. I [worked] my f****ng a** off to be pulled a week before I am supposed to compete," she wrote.
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BKFC has since announced that VanZant's fight with Sigala has been rescheduled for an October 15 event in Denver. Sigala, who made her BKFC debut on the same card as VanZant last year, lost her first three fights in the promotion but picked up her first bare-knuckle win last October.
With Vanzant facing a three-fight losing skid if she is unable to get her hand raised against Sigala, BKFC president David Feldman admitted it could mark the end of her bare-knuckle career. VanZant left the UFC on the back of a decision loss to Amanda Ribas and is without a win in any form of combat sports in over three years.
"If Paige loses, her bare-knuckle career is definitely at an end," Feldman told Give Me Sport. "I mean, she did an interview and said there was no pressure on this fight. If she feels there’s no pressure, then maybe she’s very confident. If she doesn’t do well in this fight, if she doesn’t come out victorious, or at least look very, very good, then she’s probably at the end of her bareknuckle career.”
Feldman's comments have been brought into question by VanZant signing a contract extension with the promotion earlier this year, despite going 0-2 in her first two fights. VanZant has been juggling her bare-knuckle training with professional wrestling as she recently made her debut plotting for AEW debut as an in-ring competitor.
