Paige VanZant Cleared for First UFC Fight Card on ESPN
Paige VanZant has been medically cleared to return to training for her next fight, which she said is going to be the first UFC fight card on ESPN.
VanZant had been widely believed to be fighting Rachael Ostovich at flyweight on the first UFC on ESPN fight card, but she had steadfastly denied those rumors, previously insisting she hadn't yet been cleared to fight. She explained on a video posted to her new Youtube channel on Monday that she the UFC had offered her a bout on that card, but that she wasn't willing to sign until she knew the status of her arm.
VanZant broke her arm in her most recent fight against Jessica-Rose Clark in January. She had surgery to repair the break, but she suspects that she might have returned to training to soon and negated the healing process. In June, VanZant underwent a second surgery. This time, everything went well and she got the go ahead to resume her career.
“The verdict is I can go for it. I can punch people again – well I’m not able to punch people yet – but in like six weeks I can punch people. But I can start training and working out again and I’m going to be fighting in January,” VanZant said.
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“I can officially announce, you heard it here first, that I will be taking a fight on Jan. 18 on the first-ever ESPN card. We’re going to be getting an opponent matched up.”
Whether or not that opponent is Ostovich remains to be seen, but the good news is that VanZant should be back in the Octagon almost a year to the day that she last fought.
(Courtesy of Paige VanZant)
