WWE Wants UFC's Paige VanZant For SummerSlam 2016
UFC strawweight could be WWE-bound.
Mike Roberts, manager of UFC competitor and Dancing with the Stars runner-up Paige VanZant, has announced in an interview with Fox Sports that WWE has reached out to his client about an appearance at SummerSlam. WWE confirmed Roberts's statements to The Wrestling Observer.
VanZant, 22, has been competing in mixed martial arts for four years, and in the UFC's Women's Strawweight Division for two. She has accumulated a 3-1 record for the MMA giant, with her sole UFC loss coming in her most recent fight, against Rose Namajunas.
Though VanZant has yet to challenge for a championship or headline a major show, she is one of the best-known competitors in the company, thanks to a recent run on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. VanZant and partner Mark Ballas were the runners-up on the show's 22nd season, which concluded in May, falling only behind winners Nyle DiMarco and Peta Murgatroyd.
As of yet, there's been no word as to what role WWE is pursuing for VanZant, but the sky seems to be the limit. At one point, the idea of a UFC-contracted athlete participating in a pro wrestling match would have been unheard of (and, in fact, those disputes kept Ronda Rousey from a planned WrestleMania 32 match), but given Brock Lesnar's impeding return to legitimate competition at UFC 200, all of the old rules are out the window.