Paige VanZant is getting ready for her big Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship bout against Rachael Ostovich on Friday. But fans will see more of the 27-year-old fighter and model with her husband, Bellator fighter Austin Vanderford, in the near future. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, VanZant revealed she and Vanderford will be featured in a new series for Facebook, and it will be released very soon.
“I love doing TV work. Movie work would be really fun. I’ve done a little bit of acting in the past,” VanZant said to PopCulture. “But I really have a passion for TV, and I actually love cooking. So something in a cookie realm still would be awesome, especially after I am a Chopped champion, so that was really fun. And then my husband and I are actually filming a reality series that should debut on Facebook here pretty soon before my fight. So that’s been a fun project for us.”
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VanZant didn’t reveal any further details on the show but is excited about doing a project with Vanderford, who has an undefeated MMA record. VanZant said if she were to return to MMA, Bellator would be an option since her husband is there.
“I do love Bellator,” she said. “My husband fights for Bellator, and his next fight is going to be for a title fight for Bellator. So with him being in there, of course, it would be amazing for him and I to fight for the same organization. But at this point in my career, I truly think that I’m in a great position where I can pick and choose which door to go in. So you know what? I keep my options open, and whoever comes with the best contract, or whichever seems like the best career move, I could go back to UFC, I could go to Bellator.”
VanZant’s work in the MMA world as well as her presence on social media has led to her earning opportunities in the TV world. As she mentioned, VanZant appeared on the series Chopped where she won the completion. VanZant also competed in Dancing with the Stars in 2016 and finished in second place behind model Nyle DiMarco. Along with her TV projects, VanZant wrote a book called Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life, which was released in 2018.
