Paige VanZant

Paige VanZant
Born (1994-03-26) March 26, 1994
Dundee, Oregon, United States
Other names 12 Gauge, PVZ
Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)[1]
Weight 115 lb (52 kg; 8 st 3 lb)
Division Strawweight
Reach 65.0 in (165 cm)[2]
Fighting out of Sacramento, California
Team Team Alpha Male[3]
Rank Blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[4]
Years active 2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 8
Wins 6
By knockout 1
By submission 2
By decision 3
Losses 2
By submission 1
By decision 1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: November 22, 2014

Paige Michelle VanZant[5] (born March 26, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, VanZant was a fighter in Invicta FC before moving over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is currently ranked No. 8 in the UFC Strawweight division.[4]

Early life

VanZant was born in Dundee, Oregon, and raised in Dayton, Oregon. Her parents owned a dance studio, and she was brought up dancing ballet, jazz, and hip hop for over 13 years. As a teen, she appeared in a mop commercial for Bissell.[6] She was considered a tomboy while growing up, and loved the outdoors; her hobbies included riding dirt bikes, fishing, and hunting. In high school, she was regularly bullied by a group of girls. She has noted this experience as one of the reasons she likes being a martial artist and having the ability to defend herself.[7] She has modeled for Nike and Columbia Sportswear.[7] Her father nicknamed her "12 Gauge" because of her love of shooting and hunting.[8]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After VanZant moved with her family to Sparks, Nevada, she was looking for a dance studio when she came across UFC veteran Ken Shamrock's gym, where she began training in boxing and other martial arts.[7] After winning an amateur fight at age 18,[9] VanZant made her professional MMA debut on June 30, 2012, at UWF's Tournament of Warriors finale against Jordan Nicole Gaza in Corpus Christi, Texas, winning by split decision. On September 22, 2012, she faced Amber Stautzenberger at Premier Fight Series 2 and won via unanimous decision.

Invicta FC

VanZant faced Tecia Torres at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt. The event was held on January 5, 2013, at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. VanZant was dominated on the feet for much of the fight and lost to Torres via a unanimous decision.[10]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In December 2013, VanZant was announced as one of 11 women signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for its newly created Strawweight division. It was also announced that she would compete as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter (UFC), a television reality series, as part of a tournament to crown the inaugural strawweight champion. However, on March 31, 2014, VanZant was turned away from the reality series because she was only 20 years old, and the minimum age to compete on it is 21 due to the presence of alcohol in the house.[11]

In August 2014, the UFC announced that VanZant would face Kailin Curran on October 4, 2014, in Halifax at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine, but VanZant suffered a back injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson.[12] VanZant marked her UFC debut by defeating Curran by TKO in the third round, in a fight that would win Fight of the Night honors.[13]

After defeating Kailin Curran, VanZant enjoyed an increase in popularity. In February 2015, she was signed to a sponsorship deal with Reebok. This became a source of controversy due to her having only one UFC fight at the time. UFC president Dana White responded that she received the Reebok deal because of her "it" factor and personality.[14]

VanZant faced Felice Herrig on April 18, 2015, in Newark, New Jersey, at UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold. Following a competitive first round, VanZant eventually overwhelmed Herrig with her grappling, winning by unanimous decision.[15]

VanZant faced Alex Chambers on September 5, 2015, at UFC 191. After controlling most of the fight with aggressive strikes and grappling, she won via armbar submission in the third round.[10][16]

VanZant signed a new contract with UFC on September 17, 2015.[17] VanZant was expected to face Joanne Calderwood on December 10, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 80. However, Calderwood was pulled from the fight in October and replaced by Rose Namajunas.[18] VanZant lost the one-sided fight via submission in the fifth round.[19]

Fighting style

VanZant typically attacks with aggressive grappling, then seeks to finish the fight with strikes.[15][20] Her style includes ground-and-pound, dirty boxing, and a wide variety of clinch striking. While standing, she will often move the fight toward the fence and utilize knees, elbows, forearms, punches, and throws.[20][21]

VanZant is noted for the constant pressure she applies while grappling. If an opponent escapes her clinch, she will usually look to close the distance again within moments. At UFC Fight Night 57, Kailin Curran struggled to establish range against VanZant.[20] During their three-round bout, Felice Herrig was repeatedly held down by VanZant's grappling.[15] The first fighter to defeat VanZant, Tecia Torres, largely avoided her clinch while attacking with strikes near the center of the cage.[22] While fighting from a distance, she typically attacks with high kicks and punches.[23]

In addition to her striking, VanZant has a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[4]

Dancing with the Stars

On March 8, 2016, VanZant was announced as one of the celebrities who will compete on season 22 of Dancing with the Stars. She is partnered with professional dancer Mark Ballas.[24]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 6–2 Rose Namajunas Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant December 10, 2015 5 2:25 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6–1 Alex Chambers Submission (armbar) UFC 191 September 5, 2015 3 1:01 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 5–1 Felice Herrig Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold April 18, 2015 3 5:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 4–1 Kailin Curran TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson November 22, 2014 3 2:54 Austin, Texas, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 3–1 Courtney Himes Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) BCP - Cage Warriors 15 April 6, 2013 1 2:21 Grand Junction, Colorado, United States
Loss 2–1 Tecia Torres Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt January 5, 2013 3 5:00 Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Win 2–0 Amber Stautzenberger Decision (unanimous) PFS - Premier Fight Series 2 September 22, 2012 3 5:00 Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Win 1–0 Jordan Nicole Gaza Decision (split) UWF - Tournament of The Warriors Finale June 30, 2012 3 5:00 Corpus Christi, Texas, United States

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fight Card - UFC 191 Johnson vs. Dodson 2". UFC.com. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Machida vs. Rockhold". UFC.com. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ "20-Year-Old Paige VanZant In Shock Over UFC Debut Win and Fight of the Night Bonus". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo. November 23, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Paige VanZant - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ "MIXED MARTIAL ARTS SHOW RESULTS : December 10, 2015 LOCATION: Cosmopolitan Resort, Las Vegas" (PDF). Boxing.nv.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  6. ↑ "UFC's Paige VanZant I Was a Child Star In Cheesy Mop Ad!". TMZ.com. 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  7. 1 2 3 Chris Murray (Jan 17, 2014). "Sparks' Paige VanZant goes from bullying victim to potential UFC champion". RGJ.com. Retrieved Sep 9, 2014.
  8. ↑ "LR Conversation With UFC Fighter Paige Vanzant". Latino Review. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  9. ↑ "Ex-model takes fast track to UFC glory". FoxSports.com. 2014-11-24. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  10. 1 2 "Paige VanZant". Sherdog.com. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ Marc Raimondi (Aug 7, 2014). "Too young for TUF, VanZant to debut as youngest UFC women's fighter". Fox Sports. Retrieved Sep 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ Thomas Gerbasi (2014-08-26). "VanZant-Curran heads to Austin". ufc.com. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  13. ↑ Staff (2014-11-23). "UFC Fight Night Austin Bonuses: Edgar, Oleinik, VanZant, Curran Get $50K Awards". sherdog.com.
  14. ↑ Al-Shaiit, Shaun (2015-02-13). "Dana White: Paige VanZant landed Reebok deal because she has the 'it factor'". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  15. 1 2 3 "UFC on FOX 15 Results: Paige VanZant is No Fluke, Pummels Felice Herrig". Yahoo. 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  16. ↑ "UFC 191 Results: Paige VanZant Submits Alex Chambers After Mauling Her". MMAWeekly.com. September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Paige VanZant signs new contract with the UFC, says she has fight booked". Bloody Elbow. September 17, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ Anton Tabuena (2015-10-28). "Paige VanZant now fighting Rose Namajunas with Calderwood out". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  19. ↑ Dave Doyle (2015-12-11). "UFC Fight Night 80 results: Rose Namajunas dominates a resilient Paige VanZant". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  20. 1 2 3 Cepeda, Elias (2014-11-22). "Fight Blog Recap: Edgar finishes Swanson in last second submission". FoxSports.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  21. ↑ "The hype around Paige VanZant is real". news.com.au. 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  22. ↑ Bratcher, Jack (2013-01-05). "Invicta FC 4 LIVE results and play-by-play". prommanow.com. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  23. ↑ Gerbasi, Thomas (2014-11-22). "Front Paige News - VanZant Stops Curran in Three". UFC.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  24. ↑ "‘Dancing With the Stars’ 2016: Season 22 Celebrity Cast Revealed Live on ‘GMA’". ABC News. March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.

External links

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