Paige VanZant said she would do slap fighting again, and she meant it.
Dana White’s promotion announced Wednesday that VanZant will make her second appearance Oct. 24 at Power Slap 9 in Abu Dhabi where she’ll face newcomer Chelsea Dodson. The event takes place just two days before UFC 308 at Etihad Arena, also in Abu Dhabi.
VanZant, who was once a UFC darling, won her Power Slap debut against Christine Wolmarans by unanimous decision after three rounds of defenselessly slapping each other in the face back in June.
Afterward, VanZant said she believed she had a future in slap fighting.
“I told everybody, and everybody should know that I am tough as hell,” VanZant told reporters after her win. “I’ve gone from the UFC to bareknuckle boxing to boxing to Power Slap. I’ve done pro wrestling. I just want to compete. I had an absolutely incredible time doing this. I think that they’re gonna want me back absolutely, so I do see a future here. I just want to compete, and I want to live my life and have fun, show off how tough I am.”
VanZant’s victory in her Power Slap debut was her first in a combat sports setting since a January 2019 submission win over Rachael Ostovich in the UFC’s first event of the ESPN era. After that, VanZant lost her final UFC bout against Amanda Ribas in 2020, lost two BKFC fights against Britain Hart and Ostovich in 2021, and earlier this year fought to a split draw in a boxing match with influencer Elle Brooke.
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