Paige VanZant Confirms She's Held WWE Talks

Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant keen to pursue a wrestling career once her schedule frees up.

by Andrew Pollard
paige vanzant UFC 191
Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Having long been rumoured to sign with WWE, former UFC fighter Paige VanZant has revealed that she has actually had talks with Vince McMahon’s sports entertainment juggernaut.

In a new interview with Chis Van Vliet, VanZant detailed how not only has she held tentative talks with WWE, but she’s also visited the WWE Performance Center – explaining how she has some interest in possibly taking up a career in professional wrestling.

On the topic of her possible interest in a wrestling career, VanZant explained:

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“I do. I get asked about WWE a lot, and I do feel like it’s something I would be very good at because I kind of have the best of both worlds. I was a dancer where I was used to the entertainment and the showmanship side of it, and the combat sports side obviously goes into WWE.”

VanZant signed a four-fight deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in August of last year, and she’s actually due to make her debut for the promotion tomorrow.

At this point, 12 Gauge feels that she wouldn’t be able to commit to a pro wrestling career while still competing for Bare Knuckle, but she did add that she is keen to pursue wrestling once she has more free time in her schedule.

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Given how Paige VanZant is still only 26, there’s still plenty of time for her to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Ronda Rousey, Cain Velasquez, Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock should see choose to turn her full attention to pro wrestling.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.