Paige VanZant has participated in a variety of combat sports, but the 30-year-old has decided to return to MMA.
VanZant announced she has signed with the Global Fight League on her podcast, Paige and Austin: A Kickass Love Story.
“They are picking up anybody and everybody who has a name in this sport that’s a free agent,” VanZant said. “They offered me a contract and I said yes.”
VanZant hasn’t fought in MMA since July 2020, when she lost in the first round via armbar to Amanda Ribas. However, she has been active in other combat sports over the past five years.
Since her last MMA fight, VanZant has had two bare-knuckle boxing bouts, a boxing match, and a slap fight. She lost both bare-knuckle fights to Britain Beltran Hart and Rachel Ostovich by unanimous decision.
She drew in the boxing match with Elle Brooke but earned a victory over Christine Wolmarans in June in Power Slap.
VanZant joins an increasingly interesting crop of fighters signing with the GFL’s roster. The new MMA league is said to be doing a 50-50 revenue split with the fighters and offering benefits that haven’t been seen before in the sport.
From a roster concept standpoint, VanZant seems to be on point with her assessment of the league’s direction. The GFL is signing tons of fighters with big names who aren’t currently under contract with another mixed martial arts organization.
However, that plan has the GFL’s roster currently packed with fighters believed to be well past their primes, like Wanderlei Silva, Anthony Pettis, Frank Mir, Alexander Gustafsson, and Renan Barao.
VanZant, at only 30, wouldn’t be expected to contend in the UFC, but she’s not at the age where she would be grouped with the aforementioned legends. In addition to signing big-name veterans, the GFL is seemingly looking to balance things out with a few young prospects who could springboard to stardom within the organization.
Aleksandr Maslov is a 31-year-old Russian heavyweight with an 11-1 record. Ayinda Octave is a 27-year-old lightweight from Cameroon with a 5-0 record. It will be good to see fighters who haven’t had an opportunity with the larger promotions.
The GFL plans to utilize a team-based, season and playoffs format, with a draft taking place on January 24. The season begins in April.
That said, while many doubt the legends’ ability to produce good fights at this stage of their careers, there is still some interest in seeing them in the cage, octagon, hexagon, ring, or whatever the arena may be.
Nearly 100 million people watched a 58-year-old Mike Tyson box Jake Paul for eight rounds. If the GFL can generate an audience five percent the size of Paul and Tyson’s Netflix extravaganza, the project would be a success.
VanZant is by far the biggest female name to sign with the GFL so far. We’ll see if she proves to be a trailblazer.
