Former UFC strawweight Paige VanZant has announced her return to MMA and her signing with the newest promotion Global Fight League.
“They are picking up anybody and everybody who has a name in this sport that’s a free agent. They offered me a contract and I said yes,” VanZant said on her podcast ‘A Kickass Love Story’.
VanZant (8-5) hasn’t fought in a cage since 2020 when she lost to Amanda Ribas at UFC 251. Now she makes her way back to the sport that made her a name in combat sports.
“I think this is the perfect opportunity because I didn’t necessarily leave MMA. I definitely didn’t leave MMA because I wasn’t passionate about it, but when I became a free agent outside of the UFC, the biggest offer that came in was (BKFC),” she said.
“They were the ones. They presented the best offer to me and it was exciting, and it was new, and it really sparked my interest.”
VanZant ended up going 0-2 in BKFC with losses to Rachael Ostovich and Britain Hart. She then boxed at MF x DAZN Series 15 where she took Elle Brooke to a draw. Finally scored a unanimous decision victory in her Power Slap debut this past June.
The love for MMA never went away.
“Now there’s this new MMA promotion organization that actually made me really excited to fight for them,” she said.
GFL is slowly building their roster with names from all over the MMA space including UFC legends such as Wanderlei Silva, Benson Henderson, Frank Mir, and Junior dos Santos. No events have been announced as of yet.
