Paige VanZant is one of the most talked about fighters in the world, even though her MMA career is just getting started.
The 22 year old currently trains with Team Alpha Male in California, but previously got acquainted with MMA almost by accident. VanZant’s parents had pushed her into dance from a very young age, and after the family moved to Nevada they began looking for a dance studio for her to train at. When looking for a dance studio her family stumbled upon an MMA gym owned by Ken Shamrock, and Paige began to study martial arts.
She made her professional MMA debut at just 18 years of age. She won her next two fights before making her debut with Invicta. She would go 3W-1L before making her UFC debut in late 2014. Currently VanZant is ranked as the #8 strawweight in the world.
Here are 7 pictures of Paige VanZant being awesome…
7. UFC Debut
The UFC knew the second they signed Paige VanZant that she had the potential to be a star. The issue is that she would need to be at least a somewhat decent fighter for that to happen.
While Pride was able to continuously book Bob Sapp for bouts despite his constant losing, and EliteXC was able to convince the casual fan that Kimbo Slice was actually a halfway decent fighter, the UFC does not have as much luck when it comes to marketing bad fighters (CM Punk is the exception, not the rule). For Paige VanZant to draw money for the company, she would have to show that she belongs in the UFC due to her ability, not her looks.
That is exactly what Paige VanZant proved when she defeated Kailin Curran in her UFC debut at Fight Night 57, knocking her out in the 2nd round.
