MMA Fighting - Fighter vs. Writer: Leon Edwards Expects Trilogy with Kamaru Usman After UFC 278; Paige VanZant Fires Back at Her Critics

Episode Date: August 16, 2022

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, UFC 278 headliner Leon Edwards and BKFC star Paige VanZant join the show. With just a few days remaining until his title fight, Edwards previews his showdown against Kamaru Usman, his thoughts on their first meeting seven years ago and why he expects to dethrone the long reigning champion when they meet on Saturday. Edwards also details his expectations that a win over Usman will almost certainly lead to a trilogy and he addresses a longstanding feud with Jorge Masvidal. As for VanZant, she discusses her upcoming fight at BKFC London while also addressing her future with the final bout on her contract with the bare-knuckle outfit coming on Saturday. VanZant also faces down the critics of her career as she continues to earn significant income outside the sport yet remains steadfast in her decision to continue fighting. All this and more on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify Read More: MMA Fighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking,

What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original, The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever.

Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the audible original blockbuster, the downloaded. It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded

two, ghosts in the machine. Available now, only from Audible. Welcome back to another edition of the Fighter versus the writer. I'm your host as always, Damon Martin. And this week with UFC 278 on the horizon as well as a big time BKFC card coming up on Saturday from London,

We have a very special show with two of the fighters who will be a part of the main and co-main event of those cards. I'm going to talk just a little while to the woman who will co-headline the first ever BKFC card in London. Paige Van Zanzan is going to join me for an interview to talk about her upcoming fight, her future in BKFC, everything else going on with her right now, including pro wrestling and acting. She's actually got a role in a new horror movie coming up. So we're going to talk about that as well. But first things first, my first guest to the show is going to be the man who will battle Kamar Usman for the UFC

Welterweight title, UFC 278 in the main event. Leon Edwards is my first guest. Of course, Leon is days away now from fighting for the title and he was kind enough to chat with me literally on basically the day of fight week starting on Monday.

The podcast drops on Tuesday, but he talked to me on Monday about everything going on with his fight with Kamar Usman finally getting here to get this title shot, how he expects to fight to play out, all kinds of good stuff. So, Without further ado, let's talk to the man who will headline UFC 278 this weekend as he looks to become the UFC welterweight champion of the world when he battles Kamar Usman. This is Leon Edwards.

He is the man who will battle for the UFC welterweight title in just a matter of days. He's talking to me on Fight Week, weight-cutting mode and all that. So I cannot thank him enough for the time. I really do appreciate it. Leon Edwards. Leon, how are you? I am good, brother. I am in Utah, climatizing and enjoying the weather.

As you can see, no T-shirt, so good. Yeah. We've talked a lot over these last couple years. We've done a lot of interviews around your fights, around all the disappointing, you know, injuries and delays and all these things that have happened. You're now basically five days away from fighting for the well-to-weight title.

Does it feel real? Like, does it finally feel real? Yeah, for sure. Definitely feels real, you know. but I feel like I belong here. It feels like normal. You know, I don't feel like it's a big, it's a big moment everyone's making out to be, you know.

Like I said, I'm excited to be here. It's been a long, a long, long, long time coming and a long, hard road, lots and downs. And, yeah, I feel, I feel like I belong here, and I cannot wait. Yeah, I can ask you this question now. I wouldn't have asked you this a year ago because I don't like to kind of spin in a negative light on things.

But you're here. You're fighting for the title in five days. So it's happening. But was there ever was there ever a point, you know, coming, like going all the way back to the Tyre Woodley fight that got canceled with that whole pandemic thing happened and it scrapped a fight that probably should have earned you a title shot back then. Was there ever a moment during those couple of years where you're like, man, like I'm just like snake bitten here. Like this is just like, like did you ever have like a brief moment of like I don't know what to do? Like I will say giving up because you never gave up. But you know what I mean?

Like it had to be disheartening. This heartening, yeah, for sure Never thought to have given up for nothing like that You know what I mean, I know that Obviously, like I said, the pandemic hit It definitely could do about that And when it first happened I was a bit like bummed out

You know, but after that I just Really focused my mind and just use that time To get better, you know Like switch my mind to my mind thinking Why can I compete? Why can I do this? And just thinking about maybe you just You get more time in the gym More time to improve

Taking less damages as far as competing in hard fights and just I was able to grow, you know, as a human being, as a man, as a martial life, and I feel now was the perfect time for us to fight. Maybe if it did fight him,

when I was a bit of a fight, fight him three years ago, three years ago, it would have been a harder fight than what it should be, you know, and I feel now is the perfect time for us to fight. Yeah, absolutely. It's a bigger fight now too, right? Like you've gone on and done,

some big things you had the big fight with Nate Diaz. That was a big, big fight. Of course, now Camaro's number one pound for pound. Like, in a weird way, like, even though I think you could have fallen for the title three years ago, and it would have been completely justified. It's a bigger fight now, right? Like, there is a bigger field of this. Yeah, 100%.

I believe so. Like I said, like I've been saying, this is a perfect time for us to fight, you know? And obviously, going through the ups and down at the time. I'm not thinking at the time, but now I'm thinking that this is it. This is the moment. and like you said, it feels like a big fight, and I'm excited. Yeah. Now, this fight comes several years after you fought Kamar Usman the first time.

It's the only last time you had a loss in your career, and it's going back. Now, I hadn't watched that fight in a long time, but I went back and rewatched it a couple days ago, because I kind of forgot, you know, I'd been so long. And it is so long ago. Like, let me start here and ask you this question, Lian. I'm like, do you legitimately look at this as a rematch? And the reason I say that is because you guys are so far removed from me. who you were when you fought all those years ago, you know what I mean?

Like, is there a party that says it's a rematch on paper, but it's not really a rematch? Yeah, exactly. I look at it as a brand new fight, you know, I don't look at it as a rematch. I feel as a brand new fire, a brand new opponent. He's grown leaps and bounds and so of all, you know. We both haven't lost since our first contest. And yeah, I approach it with my team as a brand new fight, seeing what he does. and going from there like I did to my last 10 opponents,

and I'll break him down bit by bit and see what to do good, see what to do bad, see where the tendencies are and take advantage of that. Yeah. Can you use anything from that first fight in terms of just knowing his size, maybe the reach? Because one thing I noticed, the fight ultimately played out with Camaro basically out wrestling you.

That was really the story of, like, his win. And that's not a knock on him by any stretch of imagine. That's just saying, like, that was the majority of his winning was wrestling. But in that first round, you caught him a couple of good times. And I think you staggered him a little bit. And that's when he went to his wrestling in that first round. Can you take anything away from that fight that you can use in terms of just like the reach, the strength, anything? Yeah, not really.

I can't remember being like super strong or anything. You know, I was remembering being in that department at the time. He had good wrestling offense, you know. And I didn't have enough wrestling defense. The defend is rationally now that's all I take from it. Far outside, the fight goes. He fights in similar ways now, but obviously it's improved, but it's still similar in how he approaches it.

You know, it's still similar in, like, his stance, his movement, his shots he uses. Still similar to what he does now, you know, so. Also, like I said, it's seven years ago. I'm approaching like a new fight, and I am ready. Yeah. This is, as I said, it's a much bigger fight now because of what you've done, 10-fight, undefeated streak. all the things, of course, Camaro now being number one pound for pound.

Let me ask you this question, Leon. I'm curious your take on this because you've been around the sport long enough. You've seen the greats. You know the history of the Welterweight Division. I personally believe the Welterweight Division is the greatest division in UFC history, in my opinion. I just love this division. I think it's always been incredibly stacked and becoming a champion is so tough. Now, Camaro right now is five title defenses in.

Now, you plan on stopping him before he can get to six. But to this point, Camaro's been pretty impressive, and I think you would say that as well. I know there's a lot of respect there. The conversation right now comes down to Camaro and GSP as far as like the two greatest welterweeds of all time. I think. I mean, you could throw in Matt Hughes maybe. I don't know. Personally, I think it comes down to Camaro and GSP.

Now, in your opinion, are you about to face the greatest welterweight of all time? Or do you still bid George St. Pierre number one in this division? I'm curious your take. I don't know. I don't know. I don't seem as an opponent. I don't really look at his resume and compared to George. I haven't fought much into it.

He's good. And what he does, like you said, he's on fire fight, defending his belt, you know. And even though all rematches, he still won out there and did what he needed to do to win. So I don't know. I don't know. I'll probably go to George.

I grew up watching George, you know. So he probably edging because of that, you know. and he's never been an opponent over mine. But far as his skill set goes, if it's a skill for skill, I'll probably go with George, you know. Yeah. See, I go the other way,

and I'll tell you why. I think Camaro, because he hasn't lost. You know, he had that one loss early in his career, but he never lost in the UFC. He's only had a couple of rounds lost in the UFC, and I think just skill-wise, I think Camar. Now, I'm saying all that,

and the reason I'm saying that, Leon, is because, again, you're going out there to beat him. Like, I think it's, and maybe I'm being biased here, but I'm saying it's, you go out there and beat him, I think you may just beat the greatest welterweight of all time. Like, I think that says a lot about this fight because, again, you have a legit chance to go out there and beat who I believe is the greatest welterweight.

So maybe I'm building it up too much, but I think that's what it is. Like, I think this is what this fight is. You have a chance to go out there on Saturday and beat the greatest welterweight of all time, in my opinion. Now, again, I'm not saying George isn't great. George was absolutely great. But I think Camaro actually has done better, which is why I think this fight is bigger and why I think it would be a huge accomplishment for you to go out and beat him. I don't know.

Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. No, my belief. If I do go out there, when I do go out and beat him, then you got to put me up with a pound, right? If that's the case, if you consider him the pound for pound, then after I go out there and start him,

then I feel like I should be also up there as out. Yeah. Let me ask you this, Leon, because I don't typically get into a whole lot of game playing questions, especially like five days out from the fight. But, you know, on paper, you know, people would say, well, you know, you got Camaro's wrestling and you're striking. but it goes so far beyond that.

But we've seen recently, Camaro has gotten into the striking, and legitimately so, you know, broke Colby-Garvin's jaw, knocked out Gilbert Burns, knocked out Jorge Mazadol, all great knock-offs, all big things.

But you and I both know that there's a certain level to striking. You can knock out certain guys. Doesn't necessarily mean you're the greatest striker. Now, that's not to knock his striking. He's a great, but is there any part of you that's like, I really hope Camaro comes out there thinking he can knock me out, because that's playing into your world.

That's playing into what you do best. Yeah, for sure. I think you will try to come out and try to prove a point, you know. Like, I think you try to come up first, try to try and strike it, and then end up shooting for the legs like you always does now. So I feel, I believe you will. I don't think you can't just try to wrestle again. If you did, then so what, you know.

I am more than season to the grappling part of the game, and I am really where I'm five goes. I might go in and try to take him down. You never know, you know. So it'll be, it's going to be an interesting fight. This is a mixed martial arts fight. It won't be like the first fight where it was like a striker versus the rest of the matchup. You know, this is a mixed martial artist versus a boxer wrestler.

And yeah, I feel on top. We've had a few rare moments in this sport where, you know, a champion, a challenger beats a champion. And the champion is so dominant up to that point. we're just like, well, you know, like people don't want to give you credit for the win. Now, you've earned this spot, Leon, you've earned where you're at. You know, yes, you're the underdog. And I get it. He's the champion.

That's just how that works. You know what I mean? Like, he's earned that spot. I get it. Is there any part of you because you do have a bit of history with Camaro? You know, you do have the fight seven years ago, but there is a fight there. Is there any party that feels like you go out there, you beat him on Saturday now, you knock him out, you win a decision, whatever the case may be, you walk away as champion,

that it's inevitable that we're going to have to do it a third time. You know what I mean? Like, it feels like this is like an inevitability. Like, I hate to talk about it before the fight, but it feels like kind of like when Chris Weidman beat Anderson Silva. Like, we know we're going to have to see it again. And I remember Chris Weidman telling me back then, like, yep, I know I'm going to have to do it a second time,

and I fully intend on doing it. Is there any part of you that's like looking at this thing, this is going to probably be part two of a trilogy? Yeah, for sure. I thought after a beat him they were all probably given a rematch, you know and so they should. Like he said, it's been doing great things for the division.

He's been beating everyone in front of him, defending his belt. So, yeah, after a beating, they might try give him another shot, you know. But you got to do it in England though, right? Trilogy in England? 100%. They won't be in fucking Utah, anyway. Yeah, for sure, 100%.

That's me come back home and that'll be amazing for the UK fans now. Yeah, absolutely. Let me ask you. You know, you've had a couple of fights where you've had, you know, bad blood, I would say a little bit. Obviously, we know the rivalries out there with Mazadol. That's a fight we never got to see. Maybe we'll get to see it one day.

But you've also had fights. There's a lot of, how do you feel about Kamar Usman in terms of like as a person, as a fighter going into this fight? I don't feel like there's bad blood. Like, it's just a competitive thing. It's not like Colby or anything like that. How do you feel about Camaro? This is what it is.

I would have said no bad blood there. I'm not there to compete, to win, to become a world champion. You know, that's my aim. And by any means, I am willing to do that. I kind of make a stirrup and be like, oh, I hate him, blah, blah, blah, because this is what it is. All this is for me is competition. Going out there, achieving my dreams I've worked for for last, what, 14 years.

I've earned and deserved for a long time and that's all it is. There's no hatred towards them. There's no beef towards them. And I just treatably that I am the bad man and I'm going out to prove it. Yeah. Is this like,

this is the moment you've been waiting for. Like this is like you've been waiting for the chance to prove this, right? Because you've had so many people doubting you and saying, well, you're this, you're that, or you didn't do this, you didn't do that. Like, is, I don't know,

do you hold, I won't say animosity, but like, do you, is there a little bit inside of you, Leon, that like you get your hand raised on Saturday night, you might get to point your finger to some of the people and say, I told you so. Like, there's got to be a little bit I told you so in a win here, right? Yeah, 100%. That's all, that's all, that's all, that's all, you know, so all adds to the fuel as well to fight, you know, so I'll tell you so, they're all coming after this fight, you know. I've been died for a very long time of all career, and

I keep proving them wrong after the fight, it's a far as to fight, you know, so it is what it is. Yeah. You know, I'm curious, Leon, you know, when we look at it. at the Welterway division, you know, the top two guys right now are you and Kamara. I mean, there's no doubt about that in terms of the streak you're on, the streak he's on. This is, this is legitimately one of the rare times where we get number one versus number two, right? Like, this is not, we don't always get that. We don't always get number one versus number two.

We are getting number one versus number two right now. I'm curious, when you look at the lay of the land at Welterweight and taking yourself and Kamaro out of the conversation, because we are seeing number one and number two, who do you look at and say who is the next biggest threat? Like, you're about to be, you're about to fight for a championship. You become champion. You're no longer the hunter. You become the hunted.

That's just typically what it's like being champion. Now, we've already said, you and Kamarro probably fight a third time, all this kind of things. But taking you two out of the question, who do you look at it Welterway and say that's the other guy, the other toughest guy in the division, in your opinion? Toughest? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know who said it's toughest.

I was, I have guys coming up. That's like, I got hands up. That's in there trying to push him quick. and I was a Kobe still floating about and on top five really is they're all credible opponents and I always need to go and earn the spot apart from that

they're all credible good opponents you know so I don't know it'd be hard to say he I think it would be the hardest fight and until you fight a person you know so we'll see yeah I know you mentioned another interview before the fight Leon that you know you said

some point you do want to settle the long-standing grudge with Mazvedal and I get that like that's one we never got to see and I don't want to take the attention away from this fight but is there any part of you that feels like everything goes well on Saturday you beat Kamar Usman like is Masthadol a little bit in your rearview mirror at this point like he's a little further back right now right like I know that's a personal one you want back but like it wouldn't make sense in terms of rankings and things like that like can you move beyond that and just kind of put that would be the first time you see something that doesn't make sense so like it I was just a spank him you know but yeah I feel like my career is doing this and he's like going the other way you know

so it would be difficult to like you said to make it make sense and for the stars to align you know but that's one that I want back and when I do win about I might even like I said give him the shot or let him go out there win one fight they're not giving him the shot you know so We'll see. Yeah, we have definitely seen crazier situations where people got title shots where you're kind of like

what in the world is going on here. Yeah, 100%. So it's all, it's all about the money, you know, and I feel that that far be a big, big though,

so we'll see. Yeah, how do you, you mentioned earlier kind of laughing, but in all seriousness, how do you feel about this fight being in Utah of all places? It's got to be one

of the weirdest locations for a title fight I've ever. Is it the first time in Utah as well? I believe, I think maybe they've been there once before, but if not, it's been a long time if they have. Yeah, I don't know, it's weird

as far, right? Why are you putting it in Vegas? For fair, it's nice there, you know? The scenery is nice, the mountains are nice, and it's like outdoors is a place, you know, but like when you walk in the street, and not not many people know about the U.S.E or that you see if it in town, you know, so we're telling them by the fight, they're like,

what's in town? Like, yeah, but he's sold out. So, um, we'll see. What's the time you like? I can imagine if they said this fight's going to be on the moon you would have been like sign me up because all you care about is fighting for the title

Exactly Okay The octagon is an hour No matter where you put it Before I get you out here Leon I know I don't know if this is big for you I know it is for a lot of fighters

Visualization you know Visualizing how the fight's going to play out How things are I don't know if you're a big visualization I know a lot of fighters are But I do You know you visualize yourself being here so many times. You visualize

yourself getting to this moment. I remember talking to you like a year and a half ago and you said, I think it was before Camaro fought Colby the second time, I think. And you said, you know, you want Camaro because it's the fight that you need back as a loss and you want the dominant champion. You want the guy to beat, you know, you want the guy who's

been the long-range champion so you can become champion. But have you visualized that moment of your hand being raised, Dana putting the title around your waist, hearing Bruce Buffer say and new, like have you visualized that moment. Can you picture in your head already? Yeah, yeah. I've been picturing it

since for years and years. And now, I like I said, it just feels like I belong here. You know, it doesn't feel, I don't feel like anxious. I don't feel nervous and it'll feel like I truly belong here. And it's been a long time coming. I've earned this spot.

And like I said, I've visualized it many years and it will become, I will see it, you know, on Saturday night. Yeah, absolutely. It's one of the things like you dream about and then the realization, like when it actually happens, like, you can't really, you can't really feel it until it's there. So, like, even me asking you, it's kind of like ridiculous because when you actually feel that moment, it's going to feel like something completely different, I'm sure.

I'm sure from what you visualize. I think it's still good to visualize, though, just to feel even like, I visualize everything, can I even like losing the fight, coming back and turning around and winning. And I visualize it all now, like being in a bad position, getting out of bad positions, and I visualize it being an easy fight. I visualize it like in every single way it could go. I've played it over and over and over and over again in my head, you know, so I won't be, you know, no surprises when it does happen.

Yeah, there's a million ways this fight could play out. We know that's how mixed martial arts is. You could go in there and get a first round knockout. You could go out there and get a 48, 47 decision, and you're become champion. I'm sure it doesn't really matter to you how it happens as long as your hand is raised at the end of the night. But ideally, if you look at this fight, and again, I'm not actually a game plan by any stretch of imagination, but when you look at this fight, what is the ideal ending? How does this fight end?

How do you beat Kamar Usman? In a perfect fight, how does this play out? In a perfect world, I can knock him out. I can stop him out. I can try and talk him out. I can choke him out. I can win by decision. Anywhere the fight goes, I'm comfortable, you know.

So, anywhere the fight goes, you know. Like I said, I am fully prepared to go wherever, wherever. I'm not going in there thinking I'm only going to strike with him. I'm going there thinking I am going to beat you by any means necessary. And that's my mentality going into the fight. Yeah. Is there a, do you feel like, and again, please correct me if I'm wrong, is there, do you feel like there is a little different mentality between you and Kamara right now where you're at?

Because this has been your goal since you lost to Kamara, but particularly the last couple years because you knew you were right there. As I said, if you had fought Woodley before the pandemic, you probably would have fought him right away. have been the title fight. So you've been, you've been scratching and clawing and working your way here. Now, in Camaro's defense,

like, again, he's been an incredible champion, all these accomplishments, but, you know, he just did Black Panther. He did the Black Panther sequel. He's talking about fighting Canello. He's talking about fighting,

you know, all these other things. He's talking about fighting Jan Blahovitch and light heavyweight, all these kind of like crazy things. And again, I don't know if it's, but do you feel like there is a difference

of the mentality of where, what you're going for right now, maybe where he's at right now going into this fight in terms of what you're fighting for. because I know sometimes it's that hungry contender who takes out the champion, right? Like the long-rearing champion

because maybe he's not the guy. This is like the passing of the torch. Is there any bit of that going into this, you think? Yeah. Wherever it is or not, I don't give two shits now, like you said. Where is or not? Like, he has been talking a lot about all over shit around, apart from the fight, you know?

I am being so only focused on this fight, and that's it. So if it is, then it's going to be a bad night firm. And if it's not, it's still going to be a bad night for it, doesn't matter. Yeah, I love that attitude. And, you know, it's rare in this sport. You know, listen, as a journalist, you know, we're unbiased. You know, we can't root for people and I wouldn't expect that. But, in all, honestly, Leon, I mean this sincerely.

I'm happy you got this. You know, I literally felt so bad for all the weird situations that kept falling on you and all the weird, you know, pandemic and fight cancellations and COVID and all that kind of crazy. I was like, my God. Like, I feel so bad for Leon. All these things keep happening. I'm legitimately happy you're here, man. Like, seriously.

Like, this is just your moment. I'm so happy you finally got this opportunity. It was well earned, well deserved. And I'm just excited that you get to go out there and compete for this style. Something you've long since deserved. I'm just glad you're getting the chance. Thank you. I appreciate it, man.

Like you said, it's been a long road. Well, now is the perfect time for us to fight and now it's going to pay off. Absolutely. Well, Leon, again, I can't say thank you enough for doing this on Fight Week. You're literally getting ready to cut weight, and you're fighting in a matter of day. So thank you so much for doing this. I really do appreciate it.

Best luck in the fight on Saturday. And I can't wait to talk to you hopefully afterwards. And when we can talk about that and new, we can actually talk about how it felt out that bell raptor on your waist. Good man. Thank you. All right, Leon. We'll talk soon.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye. There he is. Leon Edwards, the man who will battle Kamar Usman for the UFC welterweight title in a matter of days. Man, so close. And I am. I'm legitimately excited for Lee.

on. Like, it's not like no, no, no joke, man. The guy has gone through a lot to get here. And, like, you know, the heartbreak of fight cancellations. He had a chance to headline a card in London against Tyron Woodley that would have absolutely earned him a title shot and to have all that go away. And then he had, he was the guy. I mean, let's not forget, he accepted multiple fights with Hamzaa Chamaeev, when he really didn't have nearly as much to gain from a fight like that, accepted multiple fights against him. And that never happened. And then, yeah, I mean, just, again, it's like the most. snake-bitten guy in the world, but to finally get back here, you know, you think about all the missed opportunities and then finally getting a chance to do this. And I think he is facing the greatest wealth to wait of all time. I love George St. Pierre. I think George St. Pierre is an all-time great. I think he's a legend. All the things you could say about George St. Pierre, and if you want to argue with me and say George St. Pierre is number one, I couldn't fault you. Couldn't say you're wrong. I just personally believe the run that Kamar Uismund is on right now, the dominance that he's shown during this run. I mean, he has.

had like two rounds maybe lost in the Colby Covington fights. Outside of that, yeah, he did get the knockdown against Gilbert Burns, then he came back and won by knockout. You know, he had maybe not the most exciting fight in the world against Jorge Madswood all the first time comes out, knocks him out cold in the second one. He doesn't have, the reason why I put Camaro number one is he doesn't have any of those blemishes on his record. He doesn't have, he does have the one loss in his second pro fight, which, again, that's

so early in his career. I'm not saying it doesn't count, but it, you know, it's not, you know, it's not, you a fully developed, evolved Kamar Usman, but he doesn't have to Matt Hughes fight. He doesn't have to Matt Sarah upset on his record. And I'm not saying that negates all the great things that George St. Pierre did. Absolutely not.

I'm just saying in comparison, Usman doesn't have any of that. He's been nothing but dominant in the UFC. And, you know, you can argue again, the Colby Covington, you know, first and second fight were closer. Kobe Covington's really good. You don't have to like that guy, He's a really freaking good fighter.

And for him, you know, he broke his jaw to end the fight in the first one. And then he won the second fight after, you know, basically mauling him in the first couple of rounds. Colby stuck around and came back. Good for him. But ultimately, Kamara still won. But, I mean, outside of a couple three rounds, I mean, there's never been a moment outside of maybe the first round against Gilbert Burns where he got clipped and drop briefly, where you're like, man, he might lose. Like, you can look at George. If you're going to nitpick here, you can look at George and say, well, you know, George did have the,

the decision with Johnny Hendricks that a lot of people thought he lost and he did have the loss to Matt Sarah, which was a huge upset. Maybe he was getting a little bit, you know, too, you know, maybe a little bit too full of himself in that moment and then got caught and, you know, whatever. He had to Matt Hughes fight again very early in his UFC career, but he did have that blemish. Now, of course, he avenged that, you know, tenfold in the rematches. But again, like I said, you're nitpicking.

And again, I'm not going to fault anyone for saying that George St. Pierre is the greatest Walterweight of all time. Of course I'm not. because the argument is easily can be made that George is the greatest. And I have no problem with that. I just think the record and the resume that Kamar Uspin is putting together right now, I think he is the greatest. And if he beats Leon Edwards on Saturday, that's six title defenses.

He's closing in on the nine that George St. Pierre had. Now, will Kamaro want to stick around and do that? Will he want to go for nine? Will he want to do other things in his career? It feels like Kamaro is starting to reach towards the end of his career. I'm not saying he's going away anytime soon, but like he's starting to get to that level where you think he's probably got five or six maybe fights left in his career where he could walk away and comfortably go away is the greatest ever. Yeah.

So again, this is a big fight. And Leon Edwards has earned this opportunity. I think Camar Huss was the greatest welterweight of all time. This is a big fight. And it's actually a really solid card. Luke Rockhold, Paula Costa, Marab de Valshuli against Jose Aldo. I mean, good Lord, what a great card that is. All right.

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The morning will begin when passenger Fisher is done celebrating. 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned by your gambling or that if someone close to you, call 18665330 or visitcomex Ontario.ca. Moving on to my next interview on the show this week, and that is with the co-main event fighter at UFS – or see me at BKFC London this weekend, talking about London earlier. We are going to talk right now to Paige Van Zand. Of course, Paige is one of the biggest names in the sport. Former UFC fighter now fighting bare knuckle over in BKFC, and she has a big fight coming up this weekend against Teresa Sagala in a fight that could define her future in a lot of ways. I mean, Paige is coming up on the last bout of her BKFC contract.

she's making oodles of money doing her own thing on the side her own website she's doing a ewe wrestling so again where what what what has what does the future hold for page van zant and what is her focus going into this weekend's fight in bkfc so right now i am always happy to speak to page van zan she makes her return to action at the first ever bkfc card in london i am always happy to speak to the great page van zan page how are you I'm doing really good just living life in Florida getting ready for my fight

Absolutely you're one of the busiest people in the world Since we spoke last time you've booked a fight You did a horror movie You made your pro wrestling debut Do you ever take a day off? Do you ever just like take a day to yourself And just like chill out? I think I do

I mean yeah I definitely work very hard But I'm just doing things that I enjoy I was so lucky to be able to be in that movie I'm really excited people are going to freak out when that comes out. A.E.W. My debut went awesome. I can't wait to start training in pro wrestling again and have another match. But yeah, right now the full focus is this bare-knuckle boxing match in London. Yeah, now we're going to talk a lot about the fight, of course, but let me backtrack.

Talk about the movie because that kind of came out of nowhere. I know I think we've talked in the past about getting into acting. I know you said at one point, you know, hey, I'd love to do like a Marvel movie, do some superhero stuff, but this is a horror movie. 50 cent of course and I believe it's Bryce Hall. How did this whole thing come about? It was crazy. Honestly, it was extremely last minute for me as well.

I was just kind of relaxing at home and I got a phone call from Sean Welock, who I'm sure you know, but he's one of the commentators for a lot of the fight cards. He works for for BKFC as a commentator. We have a really good relationship and I think somebody just knew that me and him kind of worked together. So they called him or like, hey, just paid you want to be in this movie. we got a role, but she needs to decide, like, right away. So he called me.

I was able to talk to the producers and kind of get the rundown of what it would entail, and it was just three days in L.A. I was pretty good at, like, memorizing lines, too. So I was able to go out there, film for three days, and have my first movie role. So it was crazy. And the whole thing couldn't be more exciting. I'm a really big fan of, like, all the saw movies,

and I watched every single one in this, I will say, is very similar to that. I was going to say, a horror movie fan because that is a whole different genre to get into. I am an extreme horror movie fan. I'm like the classic horror movies, like the older ones. Gers Creepers, the original one, the original Candy Man from back from the day. I used to rent him on like the VHS tapes and take them home and have horror movie nights. So it was awesome.

I've seen every saw movie that one of the producers on. I think he was on some of the later saw movies. Josh Solberg was on there and he was an amazing director. Everything just couldn't have gone more exciting. Now, you're already very busy, but is this something you see down the road, like doing more movies, doing more acting? Yeah, I hope so. I got sent another script, too, is a movie role that is thinking about me for a lead role.

So I'm really excited for that. That wouldn't be until next August, so we're still a year out. But I definitely had an amazing time. I feel like it's something that I just kind of like flourished in. It was really fun. I loved learning the lines. I loved being on set. I loved working with everybody.

It was like another piece of who I am. And I just got to have so much fun with it. So yeah, I would definitely love to be more movie roles. Now it would be very easy to say like you're going to be an action star because you're an athlete, of course. It would be very easy to say that. But what genre,

if you were going to do, like, pick your genre of like what you want to do, what would be the dream role for Paige, fans that like, would you like to do a comedy, is horror in? Would you like to do a drama? Or would you like to do action? Because I think that's the one we'd all imagine because you're an athlete. But it seems like I know you have interest outside of just being an athlete. So like what would be your dream genre?

Yeah. You know, honestly, I do lean more towards being an athletic role, something where I could be like a daredevil or do my own stunts and like riding motorcycles, like the action stuff. I feel like that's just where I would be the best out just because it's a more. a more common fit in correlation to my normal life. But I would like to be tested too and do something like dramatic. I think that would be the hardest role for me is like a drama or comedy. I don't think I'm not funny. I don't know if my like comedian timing is very good.

So that could test me as well. But it would be fun to be on a comedy, obviously. Yeah. Now also in pro wrestling, of course, we talked last time you were getting into your training. you ended up making your debut. I tweeted about it. It was amazing. You hit the tornado DDT.

You had some fun with it. I know you've put that to the side for right now while you're training for your fight. But how do you feel about your debut? Because we talked last time. I did pro wrestling. It is scary. It is hard.

It is, I mean, it is a whole, I mean, like I said, when you're performing in front of 20 people, it's nerve-wracking. You were doing it in front of thousands of people. How was it? I mean, you seemed to do fine, but, I mean, how would you kind of grade your performance?

Gosh, you know, yeah, it was crazy with a pro wrestling debut at the T-Mobile arena in front of like 20,000 plus people. It was exciting, honestly. There was definitely like things like me watching it back that I could definitely do better. There's moves I want to get down better so I can perform them better. But honestly, I had an amazing time. And all I can do is look back and think about how much fun I had an AWW came out. We got an awesome win. I was able to, you know, showcase.

with an amazing tag team. So, yeah, it's just back to the drawing board and just trying to get better at the things I definitely know I still need to work on. But I am very happy with the way I performed. Yeah, now you have a fight coming up. So, of course, you put the pro wrestling thing to decide, but we talked last time.

Pro wrestling is difficult. It's very hard to learn. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of time, and things like that. Like, now that you've done it, and you did it for the first time, and now you've got a fight coming up? Like, has it kind of giving you a better sense

of how you have to balance your time? because pro wrestling, I mean, even though it is quote unquote scripted, you can get really hurt in there. I mean, if you're not careful, if you're not doing the right things, you're going to get hurt, you can hurt somebody else in there. It's the last thing you want to do. So have you kind of figured out like the balance? Because I know you want to do it all. You want to, you know, you want to do your website. You want to fight.

You want to do the pro wrestling thing. Now you're doing acting. But doing the wrestling making your debut, like did you figure out like how you're going to balance your time going forward? Right now your full focus is on fighting. but I know you want to get back into pro wrestling. So like, because that's difficult, right? Like I joked about you never having a day off, but like that's kind of the reality, right?

Like if you want to do this, you can't, for lack of a better word, you can't half ass it. Definitely. And I think that for fighting, professional fighting, barrenle boxing, MMA, those are things that you can't step out of the gym or have like an off season. You can have like your camps.

But for me, I'm still training 24, 247 for MMA or for bare knuckle boxing. and for this fight. So I was able to train the whole time I was in LA. Consistently through AEW, I was still training my boxing. And for the other things, I like to see it as more like a camp. Like I just put like an intensive together where I focus on that just for the preparation for the match or preparation for like a movie role. I just sit there for a week and focus on nothing else. But other than that, it's the gym in boxing 24-7 and then just throughout the day

focusing on these other things. And I feel like I found a pretty good balance. I've definitely pushed everything else to the back burner for this fight camp. So when I'm focused on or have a fight coming up, I definitely don't do anything else. Yeah. So now that being said, you're fighting August 20th at BKFC in London. Of course, your husband, the great Austin Vanderford, is fighting literally eight days before you in South Dakota. Now, I know you're not necessarily training together.

You're working primarily on your boxing and striking. He, of course, is getting over a mixed martial arts fights. I know you guys aren't in there, like sparring and grappling. the gym together, but there is still a stress there, right? Because you're always in his corner. I know that, you know, he wants to be there for your fights and you're fighting eight days apart. How has it been, you know, now we sit just a matter at this point days away, really, from you guys both fighting. How has it been with that with him fighting and then you fighting eight days later? Honestly, it's kind of the ideal situation for us. I like the fact that we're

fighting this close because we're both in a fight camp. We're both on a very, very strict regimen. I think a hard thing for professional fighters or athletes when they have a significant other who isn't in the lifestyle or isn't immersed with the lifestyle. It can be hard because you want to go out to eat or you want to go out to restaurants or you want to do something other than go to the gym and just come home and like sleep and rest. So now we're both in this situation where we're both training for a fight. We're both 100% in fight camp. We're on separate schedules. But, when it comes down to it, we have a lot of the same coaches. So I'll be able to travel with my coaching team to his fight. And then we'll go from his fight to my fight in London.

And honestly, no, go ahead, go ahead. Oh, it's just, it's just been a perfect scenario what both of us have, like, because we're both so dedicated focus together, it's like our weight, we're both have like our weight is better than it's ever been. Our physicality is better than it's ever been. We're both just able to like push and motivate each other. So there's really no excuse for us to do anything that would hinder our performance. Yeah. Now, I know that if I, correct me if I'm wrong, I believe because Austin was always in your corner, but I believe if I remember correctly, I interviewed both of you, I want to

say before your second BKFC fight, he had said that he wasn't necessarily going to be in your corner for that fight. He was going to be at the fight, of course, but he wasn't going to be one of the coaches. Now, I know you are always in his corner. So are you going to be in his corner for this fight? And then he'll just be at your fight because I know you guys do really motivate each other, you know, as coaching as much as you are, you know, husband and wife. I don't see us as like coaching each other.

It's just kind of, it's how it works out for a fight week. Like, yeah, we like to have each other in the corner. I think it is a motivation. I want to perform the best I can with having him there. It like pushes me as something to fight for. For this fight week, though, no, I'm not in his corner. And I think he is in my corner. Oh, he is in your corner.

Yeah, he is in mine. I'm not in his. But it's just the way it works out with coaching, too. Like, say we get all three of our coaches able to go and we, have no space in our corner, then we sit out. Like all three of his coaches are able to go to his fight, so I won't be in the corner.

But like first title fight, you get four corners. So then I was able to. And then for this one, I'm only traveling with two coaches since it's all the way in London. So he will step in and be that third corner. Okay, makes sense.

Makes perfect sense. Now, Paige, we've talked a lot during your BKFC career and, you know, doing this sport. Because even when you signed, and I don't want to rehash what you said a million times over. You know, people were kind of surprised.

Like, you know, why do bare knuckle? And I know you've kind of fallen in love with it. But ultimately, I know you've had a couple of tough losses, very close fights, but a couple of tough losses. Now you get Charissa Sagala. It's a great matchup. NBKFC in London. It's a great event.

But I had this conversation with Dave Feldman a couple weeks ago because, you know, listen, ultimately you want to win. It's not about putting on great fights and close fights. It's about winning. And I know that about you enough to know that you want to win. You're not out there to just say, oh, put on a great fight. You want to win. How much pressure do you put on yourself going into this fight, you know, knowing that you know, I hate to use the word back against the wall, those kind of things.

It's so cliche. But I know you don't want three losses in a row. I know you don't want people saying, man, great fight, but you lost. You know what I mean? Like, you want to go out there and win. So how much pressure or expectation do you put on yourself going into this fight? A lot. Honestly, like I see this as being the biggest fight of my career, the most important fight on my career.

especially I had two really, really close fights, extremely close. And I think for me, it's, you know, I was asking another interview, like how I want, like, if I think about leaving a legacy and at the time, I'm like, no, I don't really think about, like, leaving a legacy. I just want to be a good person. But then, like, after I thought about the question again, it's like, I just want to be that, like, no, I don't need to be this, like, legendary, go down in history, Muhammad Ali.

But, like, as long as people can look at me and think, like, yeah, you can fail, but you can still be successful. You can get back up and try again. I've definitely, I've had two really tough losses in a row. And there's a lot of people, a lot of women and a lot of men and people in general that wouldn't go 10 rounds in bare-knuckle boxing, lose, and then choose to have five more rounds. Like, I know that I have to go in there and get a win. It's for me. It's not for anybody else. And for me, it's the biggest fight in my career and all the pressure is on from mostly myself. I mean, the outside noise, I'm pretty good at tuning it out. But for me and my ego and everything, I've sacrificed,

and I know how hard I've worked and mentally I need to go out there and get a win. Is it harder because, like, I know, and it's a weird thing, fighters are all different, so I don't want to group everybody together and say that everyone's the same. But I know some fighters say, like, losing a split decision, losing a close decision, it's a harder pill to swallow than going out and, like, getting tapped out. as weird as that sounds, because you got caught. It's this definitive ending, you know it is, but when you have a split decision or really close decision,

it's harder because, you know, one more punch landed. The judge saw the fight the right way versus maybe the way they saw it, and you get a win. Is that also part of this for you? Like, because, like, again, you've had a lot of great wins, but you've had a couple of tough losses. And, again, if you get caught in an arm bar, let's say, you tap, you know, you got caught, it's over.

But those two fights, we lose perspective, they were both razor close. You were coming back, and I think if you would have had one more round against Britt and Hart, the fight might have been over, you know what I mean? And yet a razor close fight with Rachel as well,

is it tougher coming off of those kind of fights and that motivation, say, man, I want to win because that sticks with you a little bit more because, you know, if one judge had just seen something a little bit differently, you might be sitting here on a two and O record.

We're talking about title fight or something. I know. Yeah, I do think it's harder. going to those decisions where it's that close, where it really could go either way, depending on what's in the judge's minds. I think it's frustrating because it's like I did what you're not supposed to do and leave it to the judges first. And then second, it's that close.

You can taste the victory. It's there. You can taste it. You can feel it. Like it's like within reach. And then all of a sudden it gets taken away from you. So it is frustrating to know that you came up just like inches short versus is losing like when I lose to somebody and get armed by Amanda Rebus, she was better than me.

Like, and I can sit down and I can accept that, that she was better than me on that night. And she's better at Jiu-Tzu. Like, I know she submitted me. But when it comes down to like these really, really close decisions, you always have in the back of your mind. Like, no, I know I'm better, but I just failed on the night to perform. So it becomes like a mental battle almost. Like what is what held me back from winning that fight?

Yeah. Well, and we all know how good you are, Paige. I mean, you wouldn't be here doing what you're doing if you weren't good. And I think that's, we have a terrible tendency to forget on like a resume. When we look at a resume and say we have two losses in a row. We forget what happened in those two fights. I don't. But sometimes people do.

Oh, Paige said two losses in a row. Well, let's talk about those two losses in a row because they're both razor-closed fights. And I truly do mean it. I've said this to you before. I think if you had one more round against Britt and Hart, I think the fight would have, you know, potentially ended, you know what I mean, but, you know, it is what it is. But as we get, we lose perspective, right? Like, we lose perspective.

We just, oh, two losses in a row. We don't think about what actually happened in those two fights. No, I agree. And that's hard for me to remember too. And especially, like, going in training and, you know, looking back at the fight, like, then it's like, you realize, like, if I could have just done this much different, if I could have pushed the pace a little bit earlier, if I could have done what I did in the fourth and fifth round, then. that I would have finished the fight if it could have two more rounds than I would have finished it. So it's like all these what ifs and all these different scenarios. And I think it's just, it's hard because, yeah, it's what people really pay attention to is just the record. They don't

actually pay attention to what happened in those fights or the way those losses were earned and the wins were earned. So for me, it's just looking at it and going back to the drawing board and figuring out, like, you know, it is still a new sport for me being in boxing and bare-knuckle boxing. So it's just like going back to the joint board and figuring out what I need to do to make those fights go in my direction a lot sooner. Yeah. You admitted this is the biggest fight of your curve, the most important fight occurred. Do you look at it and do you approach it in a do or die situation? Like I need to win here. There is no alternative. I need to win here. Like I know that's a lot of pressure to put on yourself, but you know, I feel like you've always adapted well to

pressure. So do you put that much pressure on yourself to say, this is do or die. I need to win here. Yeah, I like to say that I don't because I know, like, at the end of the day, it's just a, it's just a fight. And if, you know, I'm, if I lose fights, I'm still successful at other things. I'm still a successful person. But, yeah, I do put that much pressure on myself, especially in this fight. For me, it's more of a mental thing. Like, I have to get this way. And I have to know that everything I've been sacrificing has been worth it.

As hard as I've been working, like, I know the dedication that I've put into this camp and into bare-nacle boxing in general. I dropped everything. to sign with BKFC. And yeah, for me, it is. It's do or die. I have to get a win out there. Yeah. Now, I'm sure you've answered some variation of this question before,

page, and I know we've talked about it during your UFC career, but I'm asking you about it now because we've talked in the past about the success you found post-UFC. And you said something to me. I want to say after your first BKFC fight, you said, you know, you could retire tomorrow if you wanted to, the money you've made, the success you found, doing your website, doing the different things you're doing, you can retire tomorrow and be financially comfortably.

Am I falsely, am I falsely quoting you saying if you wanted to quit everything right now and just lay on the couch and do nothing for the rest of your life? You could retire right now and be done. Am I fair in saying that in terms of financial security? You're fair in saying that. I mean, I would definitely start investing a little bit more aggressively than I am. There's like different like things like, I guess from a business investment standpoint that I would do.

But yeah, I mean, theoretically, I definitely don't. I don't have to find another day in my life. Yeah. So that's the question because as soon as your fight got announced and luckily, you know, we put it out there immediately. People are like, why does Paige do this? Why does she need to fight? Because she's making money.

She's doing great outside the cage. And it drives me absolutely insane because I don't know how many times I can say it. I certainly, I'm sure you don't need me defending you, but I don't know how many times I can say you do this because you love it. Now, yes, BKFC is paying you handsomely. getting paid to do it. You're not doing it for free. But you love fighting. Like, does it ever, I know it does. It has to bug you that you constantly have to defend your choice to fight when people are like, why do it? Yes, you do make a lot of money doing things. And that's awesome. That's amazing.

Applaud you. Great for doing that. But you do this because you love it. And it drives me absolutely up the wall when people make comments like that and say, why does page do it? Yes, you're making great money. Good for you. But you love fighting. That's why you're not doing it for any other reason. Am I wrong? No, you're right. And it's like, this is what I am. This is what I do.

I wake up and I go to the gym every day. I train for a fight. And I think it's hard for people to understand, I guess, maybe if they don't have that, like, athletic drive. They don't have that thing in their heart that keeps them going and moving forward no matter what. Like, yeah, I'm more comfortable now than I've been in the past. I definitely don't have to, like, sleep in my car anymore.

but at the same time the drive and the determination and the want to win is still there. At the end of the day, like I would go out there and, I mean, I'm not going to tell BKFC this, and I would fight for free. I want to go out there. And it's for something deeper than money. It's inside of you. It's something in your heart. I need to feel that like fulfillment.

And, you know, I can only do that by competing. And I think it's an athlete thing. And some people wouldn't understand. And you ask like LeBron James, why do you still play basketball? like you don't need to or why do all these NBA players, NFL players, they get to a point in their career like Tom Brady, he doesn't need to play football anymore, but why does he?

It's because he's the greatest of all time, but he wants to continue to compete. It's what he does. It's in his blood. So I don't compare myself to those people in their greatness, but definitely their drive to want to continue to be successful. I feel like that's a part of me as well. I understand the argument.

I'm sure you've heard it before, and a lot of people talk about Connor McGregor. they say how do you get up in the morning, you know, whatever the quote is, like, how do you wake up at 5 a.m. to run when you're, when you're sleeping on silk sheets or whatever. And I understand that argument. I do get that. And I do believe there are some examples where people start living comfortably and then they lose, you know, focus, they lose attention. I totally understand that. But there's also the other side of the argument, which is, you know, while, you know, when you were fighting because you had, like, that was your career and that's the way you earned your money. And that's the only way you earn your money. Like, there is something to be said about going out there and fight. for your, you know, fighting for your food, so to speak, fighting for your dinner. But now you're in a position where you don't have to fight. You could, again, you could retire tomorrow and be completely financially, you know, comfortable or you could do other things that never have to fight again.

But there's something to be said that you want to fight, right? Like, you've got that drive. You've got that determination. Do you want to fight? I think that says a lot about who you are as a person and also like the kind of, you know, kind of the fighter you want to be because you don't have to do this. You're doing it because you love it. Yeah, I am.

and gosh, I'm trying to think of who said it. Was it, you know, Steve Harvey, he's the guy on the one show. Steve Harvey, he's the one who does that show with, anyways, I think it was him. So he said a quote about like, you know, when you're walking, like, you're going to be on an airplane. you're walking past first class, you always think one day, one day I'll be in first class, one day I'll be there. And then finally you splurge and you're like, all right, I'm going to sit in first class. So you sit there. And then you realize once you sit up there, you never want to go back to coach. So in that decision, you decide, all right, I'm going to do whatever it takes to be

in first class for the rest of my life. I'm going to do whatever it takes to have this lifestyle for the rest of my life. And I think you can get comfortable being in the back of the plane. You can get comfortable just living the life you live right now. Like, yeah, I have everything I need. I don't need to want anything else. But once you spend that little bit of extra money, once you do that thing that takes you to a higher class or a new level, you think, I want to stay here.

And you want to do everything possible to stay there. So I think for me, fighting like, yeah, I'm happy with what I have, but it doesn't completely. I want more. I want to continue to fight and continue to be successful. so I can continue the life that I live. I can continue to support my family. I can continue to support those around me and help people out.

And if I choose to just stop and walk away, like, yeah, I can, but it's not going to keep pushing that envelope to make me more to be able to help more people. And I think that it's that I want that first class attitude. I want to do whatever it takes to stay in first class. Yeah, absolutely. Also, before I forget, I hear Austin off camera there. Austin, hello. I always forget you're in the room.

So I'll just say, Austin, what's going on? So I just want to say a little to Austin as well. He's always here. He actually just walked away. But we're living in a little apartment right now in Florida. And yeah, so we're always right next to each other. That's funny. So now I also, before I, we've talked about advice.

I always like having fun when we talk, Paige. I also notice because if you know me, you know, of course, I am very inked up myself. I saw you got some new hand tattoos. Now it's funny because you, you, people always, like, people don't think of you is like, I feel like, because Austin is so tattooed, like, I feel like, I feel like, some point. I don't know, Paige. What are we thinking? Are you going to match Austin and the number of tattoos? Because hand tattoos are serious. When you get hand tattoos, that's real. I know. No, I don't think I'll ever match the amount of tattoos that he has. He definitely,

he went for the throat tattoo and everything. But I appreciate tattoos. And I think I was holding off on getting them because I didn't want to, like, hinder my career, closed doors. But I think times are definitely changing. So I got a few. I got a little butterfly and a little 12 gauge right here. So just small, cute little dainty things. Yeah, but the hand tattoos are real. Like, that takes some effort. Like, when you get hand tattoos, that's some serious business. It is, but it's what I've always wanted. I want to, it says heart of a warrior, soul of a lion. So I feel like that was something. I was talking to my boxing coaches. And they were like, one of the biggest points that they say is that I have too much heart. Like, I go out there

and they know that I have heart and I'm going to fight to the death. But I need to just, I need to have less pride and I need to fight smart. So I need to go out there and be technical and use the skill that I have because a lot of times I can throw my skill away and just fight strictly on heart. And so for this fight, they want me to put my pride away, go out there and be smart. Yeah. Now, you know, of course, this fight with Teresa Sagala, if there's one thing that's known about her is that she is incredibly durable.

You know, she can take a punch. She can be durable. She has a good chin, things like that. But I imagine, like, that plays into your style because that's who you are, Paige. you are the fighter with heart, you are the fighter with determination, you are the fighter who won't back down, which is why I think this is such an exciting fight. But let me ask you this. I don't want to look past Tricis and Seagal in any way, shape, or form, so I don't want to make it appear that I'm doing that.

But I know deep down inside, there's part of you that I'm sure you would love after this fight to maybe get the rematch with Britain Hart, or maybe down the road get the rematch with Rachel Ostovich, because those are both razor-close fights, and you would love to avenge those. But I know recently, and I'm sure you saw it, Beck Rawlings made her return to BKFC. and now very close loss again to Britain Hart. Close fight. It is what it is. Beck has said she wants a rematch with you.

Now I talk to Dave Feldman and he admits it would be a monstrous fight just because of who you are, who Beck is. You already have a pretty definitive win over Beck. It isn't a split decision. You knocked her out with an incredible switch kick. But I got to ask, like just because of the magnitude, would you ever grant Beck Rawlings a rematch in BKFC the same way I imagine you would love to get another shot of Britain Heart? You know, I don't see why not, especially though, like it's hard looking at, obviously, I beat Rachel Ostavich in the UFC, and then I come in and bear knuckle boxing and I get a

lost tour. So it's like, you know, I have this win over Beck, and I feel really good about it. Obviously, it was an extremely exciting performance. But, you know, I don't see why not. I think it would be in a really exciting fight, especially for baronicle boxing. We'll see how this fight goes. Obviously, I'm going out there to get a win, and I want to fight. somebody that's ranked above me to continue to climb the ladder.

So we'll see what Dave says. I definitely know that would be an extremely exciting fight. So it's not off the table. And there isn't very many girls in barrenocle boxing and BKFC. So yeah, it's exciting. It's exciting to think that more girls are signing with them. I know Felice Herrick, I think, just signed with them. So there's a lot of familiar faces coming to the table.

All the people you beat are coming into BKFC now and they're going to be calling you out. You know what's going to happen. I know. I know. And what's crazy, this is actually my last fight on this contract. So then I go to the drawing board and figure out if I resign with bare knuckle boxing or if I see what my manager has in store for me. So I'm really excited about this fight. It's going to open a lot more opportunities for me, which is crazy. I'm sure we'll talk afterwards, but I can't not address it because you can open that can of worms. Is there a chance? This is your last fight in BKFC? I know you told me before you were thinking about resigning, but you have a lot of other. opportunities out there. I know you've never put MMA behind you, but you also have AEW, have different things you could do. Is there a chance,

even with a win, that this could be the end of BKFC? So I never thought that I would sign with BKFC or like Bair and Uncle Boxing. I never even knew they were on the table. So I don't know what's going to come up and out of the woodwork while I'm a free agent again. But I

don't see this being my last Baruncle boxing match. I love fighting for them. I like BKFC a lot. I think I can want to continue to have a future with them forever. So I really don't see this as being my last one. Yeah. Now, one fun thing I wanted to ask you,

page, because every time we do an interview, I don't really need to research page, Vanzant, because I know you well enough and I know what you do. And I don't need to, like, look up things. But I was curious because I type in your name on Google search,

and immediately things like Instagram and things like that come up. But then I'm always curious about, like, the Google headlines. And the tabloids in England are insane. you know this. Like they are lunatic with the subject. And they picked up everything. I was like,

my eyes were wide. Like everything you post on Instagram becomes a story in the tabloids over there. So. Oh no. So here's the question. Okay. You are going into the tabloid capital of the world in London on August 20th. What is the funniest, weirdest or most bizarre rumor you've ever seen printed about yourself

throughout your career? I tried to dig deep and find things. I mean, I've seen everything, and it was way out there kind of stuff. You see it all, and I'm sure some of you laugh at. What is the craziest, weirdest, most bizarre rumor you've ever seen printed about yourself? There has definitely been a lot. I would say off the top of my head, because this is a very recent one, and I'm not sure if you saw this one, that my best friend, Erica, is my girlfriend.

and that we are dating. So I think sometimes, like, these tablets forget to do, like, a little bit of research. Like, they completely forgot. Like, I'm married to my husband. And then so, yeah, that my friend, Erica, is my girlfriend. That was a new one. Gosh, that's the first one that comes to my head. But there has been some bizarre stories out there where I'm like, you know, you could just do a little bit of research and you would find out that's not true.

it's so crazy too because I see those things and it's just like you remember like it's just like so funny to me like I don't roll my eyes I almost laugh because I'm just like it's so ridiculous that it's like no one can actually believe this right like I know there's probably listen conspiracy theorists will believe anything but there's some of those where I just laugh and I'm just like really like that would be like me writing a story saying page man's aunt has suddenly grown a third leg or a second arm for a third arm I'm like where are these coming from So I laugh at them, but you got to be like, are you kidding me? Like, are you kidding me when you write some of this stuff? I know. Like, I get frustrated sometimes. And then I look at it and I'm like, whatever. Just write whatever you want to write. Like any publicity is good publicity, I guess.

Like, as long as they're still writing about me, I guess I'm relevant. But yeah, sometimes I'm like, guys, what are you doing? Like, it takes a minimal amount of research to find out that that's not true. And, like, those stories are just so random. But it is what it is. The favorite thing I discovered, because I will admit, as like a fight journalist, like when I describe a knockout, it does get tough sometimes. When you talk about like an emphatic knockout or a brutal knockout or, you know,

you have to use good adjectives to describe to get people to like interest in like what you just did. What I learned doing the Google Search This Time page is these tabloids have a really unique way of describing your photos with Austin and things like that. Like they're like the steamyest photoshoot ever, the raunchiest photoshoot. I'm like, these guys are really digging deep to come up with adjectives to like describe these stories for you. It was cracking me up because I was like, good Lord. Like you guys really dug in the sosaurus to find these words to describe pages, photo shoots or her Instagram page.

It cracked me up. Yes. And I promise you if they're on Instagram, they're not raunchy. They have very specific guidelines. But yeah, now I know Austin loves it. Keans made fun of them constantly at the gym for our photo shoots that he does. but I think he looks awesome and I'm very happy. I'm very happy with the pictures that we take.

Oh, that's amazing. And I love it. I always love Austin. I remember talking to one of the first interviews we ever did when he joked around and said, I'll gladly be Mr. Van Zand. He had no problem. He always embraces it. And it's so funny because people always say things to him trying to get to him,

trying to bug him or trying to like, you know, give him. And I feel like Austin just embraces every bit of it. And I love that about him. Oh, he doesn't think care at all. I mean, we're honestly, we're living the dream. And we couldn't be more happy with each other in our lives and the success that we've had as a couple. So, yeah, if people want to make fun of him for having a successful wife, but I think he'll take it. Yeah.

What is the old saying, the best revenge is living well. And from my understanding, you and Austin are living very well. We're living well. Yeah, we're very, very happy with our lives. I love it. Well, Paige, it is always a pleasure to catch up. I know you are incredibly busy, so I always appreciate taking the time for me. Have a great rest of your training camp.

Of course, safe travels out to South Dakota for Austin's fight and then out to London for BKFC. I cannot wait to see it back in action on August 20th. And thank you, as always sincerely, for the time. I know you don't have to do interviews. You're just a big enough star now to where you can kind of pick and choose what you do. I always appreciate you taking time for me, and I really do mean that. I appreciate you. I appreciate you.

I have real questions, not just terrible drama. I'm going to click the date. So I appreciate you as a journalist. Always a great interview. Thank you so much, Paige. We'll talk soon, okay? Yep, sounds good. Bye.

Bye-bye. A big thank you, as always to Paige Van Zand for joining me on the show. I appreciate it. Always a fun interview with her. For clarity's sake and just for full disclosure, you probably heard us talking about her traveling to her husband's fight, Austin Vanderford. Of course, Austin fought this past weekend.

I had a tough defeat at Bellator. And just be clear, We actually recorded this interview prior to that. Rather than edit it out and just, you know, kind of give you like some, you know, edited down version of the interview that was really not about Austin necessarily. It was about Paige. I just left it in there. It was recorded a few days before she left for South Dakota to be with Austin in his fight. So that's why.

But just full disclosure. You know, we didn't record it this week. It was, you know, a little before this week. So just to be aware. But always a pleasure to talk to Paige. I really look forward to her fight coming up. on Saturday at BKFC, of course, that's also the card featuring Michael Venom Page against Mike Perry in the main event.

That should be a lot of fun. I look forward to that. And BKFC, they always have really great production value. Their cards are always a lot of fun. I look forward to both of those fights and the rest of the card as well. And, of course, a big thank you to Leon Edwards. Doing this interview on Fight Week was a big deal. I really appreciated him taking the time.

He's in weight-cutting mode. He's in focus mode. He's probably doing a million other things. The last thing he wants to do is tack on another interview. so I appreciate him doing that as well. Make sure you check out the fights this week, and of course, UFC 278 on Saturday. And then next week,

happy to announce my co-host for the show will be none other than fellow welterweight contender, Balal Muhammad, who has a history of Leon Edwards. He's a man who will fight Sean Brady in a couple of months, and he is going to be caged side for UFC 278. So I wanted to get his perspective on the title fight. The welterweight division as a whole and his prospects of hopefully fighting for the title

in the near future. So we're going to talk to Bilal Muhammad next week to break down everything that happened at UFC 278. So I'm very excited to have him back on the show. A big thank you once again to both Paige Van Zand and Leon Edwards for coming on the show. Make sure you check us out on all of your favorite podcast platforms, Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

and of course over on MMAFighting.com. We will see you guys next week for another edition of the Fighter versus the Writer. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you then. Hi, I'm Sophia Loprakero, host of the Before the Chorus podcast. We dive into the life experiences behind the music we love. Artists of all genres are welcome, and I've been joined by some pretty amazing folks, like glass animals.

I guess that was the idea, was to try something personal and see what happened. And Japanese breakfast. I thought that the most surprising thing I could offer was an album about joy. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, and remember, so much happens before the chorus. Simons is here to make your holiday season magic. We've got thousands of gift ideas and festive decorations to help you turn your home into a winter wonderland. With green boxes piled under the tree.

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