Paige VanZant will look to finally pick up a victory inside the bare-knuckle squared circle next month when she faces Charisa Sigala in London.
The former UFC star has turned her attention to professional wrestling in recent months, participating at AEW's Double or Nothing pay-per-view, but will return to BKFC for her third effort at the OVO Arena Wembley. She lost her first two bouts against Britain Hart and Rachael Ostovich last year, and will be keen to finally rack up a win.
Standing across from her in the squared circle's UK debut will be Sigala, who has twice as much experience in this version of bare-knuckle fighting. She had a similar losing start in the sport after moving over from MMA, but has won and drawn her last two and will be riding some momentum from two solid results.
“I think it’s going to add a lot of hype to this card,” David Feldman, the BKFC president, told MMAFighting of the bout. “I know Paige is loved in the UK.
"At least all the tabloids and everything like that, they love writing about her, so now we’re going to give them something to write about. I think it was just a great addition to an unbelievable main event and this undercard is just stacked.”
Who do you think wins; Paige VanZant or Charisa Sigala? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Here's how the pair measure up....
Paige VanZant
Former UFC star VanZant made a massive money move into BKFC last year, but it hasn't necessarily gone her way thus far. She was comfortably beaten by Hart in her debut, but felt hard done by when she was defeated by split decision against Ostovich.
Her MMA record was 8-5, including fights against two-time champion Rose Namajunas and the feared Michelle Waterson. She had impressive wins over the likes of Bec Rawlings, Felice Herrig and Ostovich in the octagon, but left over money in 2020, and now makes considerably more between BKFC, her subscription fanbase and professional wrestling.
She moved to AEW last year to take part in a number of scripted angles, and had her first match at the May Double or Nothing event in Las Vegas. She won the pre-determined bout, and will continue wrestling once her BKFC fight is done.
VanZant is 5'4" with a 65-inch reach, and had her first MMA fight in 2012, quickly turning professional after just one amateur bout. She first boxed bare-knuckle in 2021.
Charisa Sigala
There is a perception that both women in this fight are most famous for their subscription services online, but they are both dangerous operators. Sigala is 4-2 in the MMA cage before moving over to BKFC last year.
She had a similar one-fight career in the amateur ranks before turning professional and quickly accumulating a four-fight winning streak. However, after three years out due to multiple cancellations, Sigala came back to two losses before moving into bare-knuckle boxing.
That endeavour started at a poor level as well, with two losses to Taylor Starling and Pearl Gonzalez. But she was persistent and got a victory eventually against Jessica Link.
She had a highly entertaining bout with Angela Danzig that ended in a draw, but will fancy her chances against VanZant. The pair have the same height and reach, which will make for an interesting contest.
