Despite suffering a broken orbital bone in a domestic violence incident, mixed martial artist Rachael Ostovich has been cleared to fight Paige VanZant.
Ostovich, 27, took to her Instagram story to share a pic of herself and VanZant, 24, along with ‘Thank you Jesus’ and a prayer hands emoji, along with a tweet from ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto which broke the news.
VanZant also took to her own Twitter page to share the news, revealing, ‘FIGHT STILL ON!!!!! I couldn’t be more great full to @rachaelostovich.’
Fight is back on: VanZant also took to her own Twitter page to share the news, revealing, ‘FIGHT STILL ON!!!!! I couldn’t be more great full to @rachaelostovich.’
‘Yes we are going to war with each other in the cage, but I stand by her side with her ongoing battle at home. Let’s put on a fight and show these people how strong we are,’ VanZant added.
The fight, scheduled for January 19, was initially cancelled due to Ostovich’s injuries, which were sustained in an alleged attack by her husband, another MMA fighter, Arnold Berdon, in Hawaii.
While the fight was cancelled, Ostovich’s manager Brian Butler-Au told ESPN that the fighter sought a second opinion on her injuries, and she was cleared this week.
Ostovich vs VanZant: Ostovich, 27, took to her Instagram story to share a pic of herself and VanZant, 24, along with ‘Thank you Jesus’ and a prayer hands emoji, along with a tweet from ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto which broke the news
‘She never really wanted to be off of this fight,’ Butler-Au said. ‘When everything happened, it was very emotional.’
‘The injuries were significant enough that, combined with the emotions of everything that was going down, we made a decision to pull out of the fight,’ Butler-Au continued.
‘Now that things are settling out and the swelling of the injury is going down, Rachael got a second opinion and everything will work out to where she can keep this fight.’
Fight back on: ‘She never really wanted to be off of this fight,’ Butler-Au said. ‘When everything happened, it was very emotional.’
Ready to fight: ‘Yes we are going to war with each other in the cage, but I stand by her side with her ongoing battle at home. Let’s put on a fight and show these people how strong we are,’ VanZant added
ESPN also confirmed with UFC president Dana White that the fight is back on for January 19.
Berdon was taken into custody by Honolulu police last week and charged with second-degree assault, and his next court hearing will be December 18.
Ostovich was also granted a restraining order against Berdon.
Happier times: Berdon was taken into custody by Honolulu police last week and charged with second-degree assault, and his next court hearing will be December 18
The Ostovich/VanZant fight is part of the UFC Fight Night lineup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The January 19 fight will be the first event as part of a new five-year deal between the UFC and ESPN, with the fight airing on the network’s new ESPN+ streaming service.
Ostovich has a 4-4 mixed martial arts record and is 1-1 in two UFC fights, while VanZant has a 7-4 record and is coming off a one-year injury hiatus.
Fight-ready: The Ostovich/VanZant fight is part of the UFC Fight Night lineup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
All smiles: Ostovich has a 4-4 mixed martial arts record and is 1-1 in two UFC fights, while VanZant has a 7-4 record and is coming off a one-year injury hiatus