UFC women’s strawweight competitor Paige VanZant is parlaying her success on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” into an opportunity in Hollywood. On Monday, news surfaced that VanZant had landed a role in the upcoming film “Kickboxer: Retaliation,” according to a report on Deadline.com.
Per the report, the eighth-ranked strawweight will play Gamon, “a 26-year-old with high-level fighting and shooting skills with some strong criminal connections too.”
Interestingly enough, the report states producers specifically wrote the role for VanZant after watching her on “Dancing With The Stars.”
“Paige is the up-and-coming darling of the UFC and her star quality shines through on camera,” producer Rob Hickman of Our House Films said in a statement. “She’s a tremendous asset to the film both as an onscreen talent and as a trainer fighter.”
The movie is filming in Nevada and Los Angeles, with a shoot in Asia this June.
It will be interesting to see how her newfound Hollywood role will impact her return to the Octagon. VanZant had said that she was hoping to return to the cage this summer, but with all of her success outside of the Octagon, it would not be surprising to see her continue taking advantage of her wide appeal.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
