Tag: Paige Vanzant

Paige VanZant Has Has Officially Signed With AEW

Even though one industry requires its competitors to legitimately hurt each other, and the other makes its money from staged fights and storylines, there’s a lot of crossover between MMA and pro wrestling. Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, and Marina Shafir are just a few of the people to have found success in both worlds. There tends to be a lot of buzz around anyone notable who leaves one sport for the other, and the latest star to generate that buzz is Paige VanZant.

The former UFC star has been showing up in AEW for months at this point, aligning herself with American Top Team. However, she isn’t actually signed to the company, at least she wasn’t until last night. Dan Lambert struck a deal with Tony Khan, promising VanZant would sign with AEW if he gave Scorpio Sky a TNT Title match on this week’s Dynamite.

That deal paid off in a major way for Lambert as Sky got his shot and made it count. The former SCU member beat Sammy Guevara and the TNT Title is now under American Top Team’s banner. Sky had a pretty big helping hand from VanZant, though. The new signing, who wasn’t technically under contract at this particular moment in time, jumped the barricade and threw Tay Conti into the steel steps.

Conti is Guevara’s other half and had accompanied the now-former TNT Champion to the ring for the match. Watching VanZant attack Conti at ringside was enough to distract Guevara for so long that Sky pounced on his opponent and covered him for the win. Right after, VanZant took the opportunity to sign her deal then and there, adding insult to injury by putting pen to paper on Conti’s back.

All signs point to Conti being VanZant’s first opponent as an AEW star. Perhaps a mixed tag match involving those two, Sky, and Guevara is also in the offing. What remains unclear is what this means for VanZant’s MMA career. While she could, of course, continue to compete in both worlds, VanZant is currently 0-2 since signing with BKFC so may want to focus on wrestling moving forward.

https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1501755834547818501

Source: TheSportster

WWE reportedly interested in UFC’s Paige VanZant

At just age 22, Paige VanZant is arguably one of the best fighters in the ever growing Strawweight division. With just two losses under her belt in her professional MMA career many would say she’s the next huge crossover star.

She’s already been endorsed by Reebok and was in the finals of Dancing with the Stars this past season, and now according to MMA Junkie the biggest company in professional wrestling known as the WWE has an interest in “12 gage”

VanZant has reportedly been in talks with the WWE about appearing at their biggest PPV of the summer, SummerSlam, says her manager Mike Roberts.

No word has been said what type of role PVZ will play in the PPV if she does indeed appear. Still it’s interesting to think about especially with the news that broke this past weekend of WWE’s Brock Lesnar competing at UFC200. Let’s not forget the appearance by Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 31.

All of this begs the question of could it be possible that the WWE and the UFC be in some type of under the table partnership? We here at WNB sure think so. 

Paige VanZant Finishes As Runner-Up On ‘Dancing With The Stars’

Source: MMAFighting.com

Paige VanZant, the popular UFC fighter, finished second on this season of “Dancing With The Stars” on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. VanZant and partner Mark Ballas earned a perfect score of 30 for their salsa-jiva amalgamation on the second night of the finals, but it was not enough. Deaf male model Nyle DiMarco and his partner Peta Murgatroyd took home the title when the scores and fan votes were combined.

VanZant and Ballas got a 29 out of 30 with a paso doble routine Monday on the first night of the “DWTS” finale. DiMarco and Murgatroyd earned perfect scores of 30 both nights this week. Ginger Zee and dancer Val Chmerkovskiy came in third.

UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture both competed on “Dancing With The Stars,” but didn’t make it nearly as far as VanZant.

VanZant, 22, made six figures for appearing on the show and even more for making the semifinals and finals. Despite the loss, “DWTS” was also a boon for her mainstream popularity and social media engagement.

“12 Gauge” is a rising star in the UFC’s women’s strawweight division. She has a background in dancing, modeling and acting. This week, news broke that VanZant earned a role in the next Jean-Claude Van Damme “Kickboxer” sequel due to her performances and personality on “Dancing With The Stars.”

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Paige VanZant Joins Cast Of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 22

Source: Fox Sports

UFC strawweight Paige VanZant has joined the cast of “Dancing with the Stars” season 22, with the show set to debut on March 21 on ABC.

VanZant joins another all-star cast of celebrities and sports stars on the show this season including Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, “Fuller House” star Jodie Sweetin, Football legend Doug Flutie and Super Bowl champion Von Miller.

The 21-year-old joins Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture as UFC fighters who have appeared on the show, but she is the first ever to join the series as an active competitor.

VanZant last fought in December, when she lost by rear naked choke to Rose Namajunas at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.

Prior to that loss, VanZant had won her first three fights in the UFC as she climbed into the top 10 rankings at 115 pounds.

“Dancing with the Stars” will kick off in March with the show running all the way through May for the celebrities who make it all the way through the elimination-style competition.

Before she was a fighter, VanZant was actively involved in dance and cheerleading so this seems like a natural fit for the Team Alpha Male fighter.

VanZant is expected to compete on the show while still training for her return to the Octagon later this year. While nothing has been booked, VanZant has targeted UFC 200 for her next fight but she’ll look to knock out a “Dancing with the Stars” championship first.

Is Paige Vanzant one to watch in WMMA?

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So with the ufc announcing the development of the new women’s straw division, one has to wonder who will be the stand outs. The upcoming season of the ultimate fighter will be there 20th season. It’ll be the first season to feature all women. Further more it’ll be the 1st to feature 145LBS women. The winner of the season will be signed to the ufc along with being crownd ufc’s very first women’s straw weight champion.

One of the fighters that many are talking about is Paige Vanzant. One of the main reasons is because she listed Ronda Rousey as one of her favorites. Stating “WMMA wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for Ronda Rousey” (I for one agree with that statement 100%

It should also be noted that she will be the youngest women in the ufc if she does indeed win this season.

So what do you guys thing is Vanzant one to look out for? I definitely believe she will be one of the front runners and I look forward to seeing what her and the other contestants have to offer. See for yourself and form your own opinion by reading her latest Q AND A
http://www.examiner.com/article/q-and-a-with-paige-vanzant

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)