Ronda Rousey’s star isn’t the only one shining bright in Hollywood.
Following her successful stint on this season’s “Dancing with the Stars,” UFC fighter Paige VanZant is set to join the cast of the upcoming flick “Kickboxer: Retaliation,” the sequel to 1989’s “Kickboxer: Vengeanace” starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
“Paige is the up-and-coming darling of the UFC, and her star quality shines through the camera,” producer Rob Hickman said in a statement Monday. “She’s a tremendous asset to the film both as an on-screen talent and as a trainer fighter.”
VanZant will step into the role of Gamon, a 26-year-old beauty with advanced fighting abilities and connections to criminals, a part specifically written for her. And while production has already started in California and Nevada, it’s likely VanZant won’t be getting a congratulatory tweet from fellow fighter-turned-actress Ronda Rousey.
Rousey, who appeared in last summer’s box office bomb “Entourage,” allegedly cursed out VanZant on the set of a Reebok shoot after the 115-pound beauty congratulated Holly Holm on her knockout performance over Rousey last fall.
Fellow fighter and Rousey nemesis Miesha Tate recalled the pair’s doomed encounter during an appearance on the “Joe Rogan Podcast” earlier this month.
“Paige and I have spoken before, we’re friendly; I don’t know her that well. Anyway, she felt the need, she came up to me — ‘Miesha, Miesha, I have to tell you this experience I had with Ronda.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ She’s like: ‘We were at a Reebok deal recently and we were at a shoot and I was trying to find her so we could get a picture,’ and the Reebok people were like, ‘Don’t ask Ronda for a picture.’ She’s like, ‘Why?’ and they’re like, ‘Just don’t. Stay away from Ronda, don’t ask her for a picture,'” Tate said.
“I guess Ronda came later that day and seeked her out and just like cussed her out. Like, they’ve never really had a conversation either. She’s like, ‘I don’t know Ronda other than hi, bye, that’s it.’ I guess Ronda came up and was like: ‘F–k you, you fair-weather bitch, how dare you cross me?’ She’s like: ‘Cross you? What are you talking about?’ And she’s like: ‘You congratulated Holly Holm for beating me, so f–k you, you f–king fair-weather 115-pound…’ She just went off on Paige. And Paige came and told me and I was like, ‘Honey, welcome to my world.’ She was like, ‘I’m glad I saw this side of her, so I know.'”
While Tate has yet to congratulate VanZant on her new acting gig, she did support her on social media Monday night after encouraging her 566,000 Twitter followers to vote for VanZant, with the hopes of crowning her the next “Dancing with the Stars” champ.