Paige VanZant Cleared to Compete at UFC’s First ESPN Event After Surgery on Broken Arm

Paige VanZant has been cleared to compete and will appear on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first ESPN card next year.

VanZant announced the news on her YouTube channel on Monday. The “Dancing with the Stars” runner-up had undergone multiple surgeries after breaking her arm in a loss to Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124 on Jan. 14.

“The verdict is I can go for it,” VanZant said. “I can punch people again — well I’m not able to punch people yet — but in like six weeks I can punch people. But I can start training and working out again and I’m going to be fighting in January.”

Multiple outlets recently reported that VanZant would square off against Rachael Ostovich at an as-yet-to-be announced card on Jan. 18. VanZant initially denied those reports at the time, claiming that she hadn’t yet been medically cleared.

While VanZant didn’t reveal her opponent in her video, she did confirm that she would be fighting on that date on ESPN.

“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.”