Paige VanZant

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

Paige VanZant (born March 26, 1994), is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2012, VanZant was a fighter in the Invicta FC before moving over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Personal Life

VanZant grew up in Dayton, Oregon. Her parents owned a dance studio so she was brought up dancing ballet, jazz, and hip hop and has danced for over 13 years. As a child VanZant was considered a tomboy and loved the outdoors. Her hobbies included riding dirtbikes, fishing, and hunting. She also modeled for Nike and Columbia Sportswear.[5]Her father nicknamed her "12 gauge" because of VanZant's love of shooting and hunting.[6] In high school, VanZant was short, and was bullied by a pack of bigger girls regularly.[5] In 2012, Van Zant graduated from TMCC High School, located in Reno, at the age of 18. She attended college on an academic scholarship where she majored in the culinary arts. [7]Before becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter VanZant was a ring card girl since she was too young to compete. She also starred in a commercial for Bissell.[8]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

When VanZant's family moved to Sparks, Nevada VanZant came across UFC legend, Ken Shamrock`s, gym named the Lion's Den while looking for a dance studio. At the urging of her father she trained in boxing then mixed martial arts. She has previously trained at the Reno Academy of Combat and currently trains with Team Alpha Male. Her amateur career consisted of only one fight which she won by submission. 2 months after her victory she turned pro.

VanZant made her professional mixed martial arts debut on June 30, 2012 at UWF's Tournament of Warriors Finale against Jordan Nicole Gaza in Corpus Christi, Texas. She won by a split decision and was only 18 at the time.

On September 22, 2012 she faced Amber Stautzenberger at Premier Fight Series 2, and she won via unanimous decision.

Invicta FC

She 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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12][13]

After defeating Kailin Curran, VanZant enjoyed an increase in popularity. In February 2015, VanZant was signed to a sponsorship deal with athletic footwear giant Reebok. With only one professional UFC fight this became a source of jealousy and controversy since it was only thought she received the sponsorship because of her beauty. Only 6 fighters have separate sponsorship deals with Reebok. With the exception of Conor McGregor, who receives a title shot in 2015, VanZant is the only fighter sponsored by Reebok that hasn't had a UFC title or is a current UFC champion. UFC owner, Dana White, has said 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 15.[15] She won the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5–1 Felice Herrig Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold April 18, 2015 3 5:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 2–1 Tecia Torres Decision (unanimous) Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt January 5, 2013 3 5:00 Kansas City, Kansas, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–0 Amber Stautzenberger Decision (unanimous) PFS - Premier Fight Series 2 September 22, 2012 3 5:00 Fort Worth, Texas, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |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 Fight Night Machida vs. Rockhold". UFC.com. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ Murray, Chris (November 21, 2014). "Sparks' Paige VanZant confident heading into UFC debut Saturday". http://www.rgj.com/''. Reno-Gazette Journal. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Paige VanZant - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chris Murray (Jan 17, 2014). "Sparks' Paige VanZant goes from bullying victim to potential UFC champion". RGJ.com. Retrieved Sep 9, 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.latino-review.com/news/lr-conversation-with-ufc-fighter-paige-vanzant. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xabZTNKeIPc. Missing or empty |title= (help) | title:UFC fighter profile | date:April 18, 2015 | author: Toeknee Taing
  8. ↑ http://www.tmz.com/2015/05/01/ufcs-paige-vanzant-i-was-a-child-star-in-cheesy-mop-commercial/
  9. ↑ Ben Fowlkes (Jan 6, 2013). "After PPV failure, Knapp, Invicta search for answers". USA Today. Retrieved Sep 8, 2014.
  10. ↑ Marc Raimondi (Aug 7, 2014). "Too young for TUF, VanZant to debut as youngest UFC women's fighter". Fox Sports. Retrieved Sep 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Thomas Gerbasi (2014-08-26). "VanZant-Curran heads to Austin". ufc.com. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  12. ↑ Staff (2014-11-23). "UFC Fight Night Austin Bonuses: Edgar, Oleinik, VanZant, Curran Get $50K Awards". sherdog.com.
  13. ↑ Fox Sports
  14. ↑ http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/2/13/8035801/dana-white-paige-vanzant-landed-reebok-deal-because-she-has-the-it. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ Tristen Critchfield (2015-01-14). "UFC ON FOX 15 GETS PAIGE VANZANT-FELICE HERRIG, JIM MILLER-PAUL FELDER ON APRIL 18". sherdog.com.

External links