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Paige VanZant was once one of the UFC’s hottest commodities.
Now she’s one of Instagram’s hottest stars.
The blonde bombshell began her UFC career in 2014 with a TKO victory over Kailin Curran. She then proved her status as a truly impressive prospect with victories over Felice Herring and Alex Chambers to move her to 3-0 in the company.
But then things hit a snag.
VanZant took a big jump up in competition to face future UFC champ Rose Namajunas in December of 2015 and Namajunas handed her her first UFC loss.
She bounced back with an impressive knockout of Beth Rawlings in August of 2016, but three losses in her next four fights saw VanZant out of the company.
But she didn’t leave the combat sports world. At least, not yet.
VanZant fought in a pair of BKFC fights in 2021, dropping both by decision. Since then, it appears she’s focused her energy on her career as a model and influencer.
BKFC president Dave Feldman doesn’t seem to believe VanZant will be back with his company.
“I’m going to be talking to her this week and there’s a possibility that she returns on a big card we’ve got in April,” Feldman said late last year via Mirror Fighting. “If she doesn’t, then it’s probable that she won’t be coming back to BKFC.”
“She is definitely welcome with the organization it’s just a matter of what she wants to do. I think this helps her other revenue streams, it gives her notoriety to be able to get fans for her other revenue streams. I don’t think she’s going to turn it down because of money, I think the only reason she would turn it down is if she doesn’t have the desire to fight anymore.”
And who could blame her?
VanZant amassed over 3.2 million followers on her Instagram page. And it’s not hard to see why.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CsTxCqmpQIP/?hl=en
The ex-UFC star went viral yet again on Tuesday after she posted jaw-dropping pictures and video from a recent bathing suit photo shoot.
The post quickly garnered over 20,000 likes and hundreds of comments. It’s safe to say VanZant likely won’t be returning to the fight game anytime soon.