David Feldman is relieved Paige VanZant decided to sign with his promotion, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Entering UFC 251, VanZant was fighting Amanda Ribas and it was known it was the final fight of her contract. Many pundits believed she would end up in Bellator but on Wednesday that did not happen. Instead, it was announced she has signed with BKFC.
For Feldman, he says the negotiations went smooth and he knew after talking to VanZant and her manager, they would come to terms.
“We talked to her manager after the UFC fight. I think it was the Monday she got back. We made sure she was definitely a free agent and when we found that out we started talking deals. One thing leads to another and here we are,” Feldman said to BJPENN.com on Wednesday evening. “It is a great two-way partnership. I think she wants to do other things as well like commentate. That is what really intrigued and we offered her a very lucrative contract and she was happy with it.”
Although the deal was only reported as a multi-fight, Feldman reveals to BJPENN.com that Paige VanZant signed a four-fight deal. But, both sides hope the partnership is one that can last a lot longer than that.
“It is a four-fight contract. It was never discussed to be a one-off. We were talking anywhere from three to five fights and settled in at four,” Feldman said. “We thought it was good for business and we can come back after a couple of fights and extend it. Paige VanZant has a phenomenal following and she can fight and she has a great stand up game. This will be a great company for her to grow.”
The hope for David Feldman is to have Paige VanZant debut in November. He says he doesn’t have anyone in mind for her debut but he did say they are talking to a lot of women for VanZan’t second or third fight sans gloves.
“We will have her fight by the end of the year and hopefully everything gets under control and we can have a live crowd,” he explained. “Paige VanZant will probably be the main event or maybe she will be co-main to a championship fight. Paige will be a main or co-main event every single fight with us. She brings a huge name and a lot of people have question marks to this and that will help draw.”
Paige VanZant signing with BKFC is no doubt massive. Yet, according to David Feldman, he says the promotion is close to announcing another major signing which will surprise people more than the VanZant signing did.
“We have another massive signing coming up in the next three to four weeks. People will wonder how Bare Knuckle FC signed these guys. This is not us pounding our chest or bragging, it just means we mean business,” Feldman concluded. “We work our asses off and put on great shows and treat the fighters well. We are growing and when we grow we make some bigger additions and this next one will blow people’s minds.”
What do you make of Paige VanZant signing with BKFC? And, who do you think the massive free agent singing is that David Feldman hinted at?