Paige VanZant confirms she’ll be fighting on first UFC on ESPN card

In late August, MMA Fighting reported that Paige VanZant would be returning to the cage opposite Rachael Ostovich on January 18, when the UFC debuts on ESPN. Unfortunately, VanZant was quick to refute this news, assuring that she hadn’t yet been given a clean bill of health.

#FakeNews..sorry everyone I’m not even cleared yet. Hoping to get cleared this week to slowly start back to training! Off to Vegas Thursday to see my doctor.

— Paige VanZant (@paigevanzant) August 26, 2018

“#FakeNews,” Paige VanZant said on Twitter after this news surfaced. “Sorry everyone I’m not even cleared yet. Hoping to get cleared this week to slowly start back to training! Off to Vegas Thursday to see my doctor.”

While VanZant initially refuted these reports, she’s now saying she is, in fact, fighting on the January 18 card, and that she’s currently awaiting an opponent.

“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,” Paige VanZant said on her YouTube channel (transcript via MMAjunkie). “But I can start training and working out again and I’m going to be fighting in January.”

“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,” VanZant said. “We’re going to be getting an opponent matched up.”

While this fight is expected to occur at flyweight, VanZant didn’t divulge whether she’d be fighting Rachael Ostovich as previously reported, or if she’d be getting another opponent for this first UFC on ESPN card.

Who do you want to see Paige VanZant fight when the UFC debuts on ESPN on January 18 of the new year?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/4/2018.