Paige VanZant Recalls Being Stalked – ‘He Was In Jail’
Paige VanZant recalls being approached by a stalker at her gym.
VanZant’s last fight in any form took place in 2021. She faced off against Rachel Ostovich at BKFC 19. Things did not go her way, as she lost a unanimous decision. Her UFC career also took a huge nosedive. The fighter left the organization with three defeats out of her last four fights.
In and amongst this, VanZant decided to make her wrestling debut. She signed up for AEW in 2022 before leaving to join OnlyFans. She still has two fights left on her four-fight deal with the BKFC. Her first two bouts ended in defeats to Ostrovich and Britain Hart. But recently, she decided to announce her comeback to boxing.
VanZant’s Return
“I got offered a fight, a boxing match – and I took it. I accepted a boxing match. That will be my next fight. It will be really, really exciting for everyone. Gloves on. This is straight boxing. I did think my next fight would be a bareknuckle boxing match, but this opportunity came forward and I was like, ‘Yeah,, let’s go.’ So I took a fight. We’re really excited,” VanZant said
Despite those plans, VanZant had to deal with major issues outside her combat sports career. She has been training at the American Top Team gym since 2017. She recalled how the stalker visited her, claiming he had been messaging her for the past four years via Instagram.
VanZant did not notice. Once she realised, it appeared the man bought a gym membership there. Former UFC light-heavyweight Ed Herman discovered that he had been harassing her, telling him to leave. Since then, VanZant has not heard from her stalker.
VanZant Reacts
“I had a stalker, a big-time stalker. I’m training and I notice this guy watching me the whole time. Instantly, I got the vibe. I thought he’s a fan so you try to be nice. Of course, people can be nervous. It was the prime of my UFC career, maybe he was just a fan and was nervous. He comes over and starts talking to me. He’s like, ‘Hey, how are you? I’m so happy to meet you or I’m so happy that we’re together’.
“I was like, ‘Oh, okay’. I was like, ‘What’s your name?’. He was like, ‘It’s blah blah blah, we’ve been talking on Instagram for years’. I was like, ‘What?’”.“I go in the back [of the gym] and open the messages. He has been messaging every single day. At least 10 to 20 messages for the last four years. Every day he would message and message and message about how we’re meant to be together. About how Allah told him we were meant to be together and how he was thinking about me the entire time he was in jail,” VanZant said
Now that the incident has been resolved, VanZant can focus on her next bout. Her boxing opponent has not been confirmed, but there is a lot of anticipation for her comeback. Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
