Issue 131
August 2015
Paige VanZant has proven she’s much more than just a pretty face. She tells Fighters Only about her journey from backyard boxing to becoming the UFC’s hottest new star.
With her florescent pink curtains, fairytale artwork, ‘love’ throw cushions and cutesy furniture, Paige VanZant’s bedroom appears more appropriate for a teenage girl who’s more caught up in cheerleading and the likes of One Direction than perfecting a left hook or a guillotine choke.
However, you don’t judge a book by its cover. If you look closely enough at her dressing table you’ll catch a glimpse of who this 21-year-old really is. Standing out like a sore thumb behind the lipgloss, perfume and nail polish are a trio of UFC lanyards, the type only given to fighters and their entourages. She might come across as the girl next door, but VanZant is also one of the fastest rising stars in mixed martial arts.
In her bedroom, ‘12 Gague’ is the stereotypical SoCal babe – blond hair, blue eyes and with bikini model looks, she sits cross-legged on her bed, giggling at Facebook messages from her friends. However, put her within touching distance of a cage and her demeanor is transformed. She becomes the 115lb juggernaut that’s taken the UFC by storm since her November 2014 debut.
Talk about making a statement, the strawweight star swarmed Felice Herrig and Kailin Curran in her first two Octagon appearances by taking them down relentlessly and punishing both with a seemingly never-ending stream of ground ‘n’ pound. Her suffocating style left both of her opponents bloody, bruised and wondering why they weren’t able to stop the whirlwind of violence.
Her impressive skills have been sharpened at Team Alpha Male, the Sacramento gym she now calls home, but she reveals her penchant for fisticuffs started at an early age.
“My brother and I used to box each other in our neighborhood. Me and the rest of the boys used to have backyard boxing matches as kids,” VanZant recalls, grinning at the memory.
“When I was in middle school, we’d get together with all the boys in the area and we’d backyard box each other. I wasn’t really very girly until I got to high school. I grew up doing boxing, but I didn’t plan on making it a career until after my first professional fight.”
VanZant also took part in more ‘girly’ pursuits like dancing and cheerleading, but her father Steve was keen to encourage her combative side. When he lost his job, the family moved 510 miles from Dayton, Oregon, to Reno, Nevada, to start a new life. When they arrived, he took a young Paige for her first taste of mixed martial arts – courtesy of a UFC Hall of Famer.
“My dad convinced me to take classes when we lived in Reno. Ken Shamrock had his Lion’s Den gym there and after I’d done a class, Ken told me I had a lot of potential. I was new to the town and didn’t have a lot else going on so I figured I’d give MMA a try,” she says.
“My dad loves the sport and loves me being a fighter. In fact, he cornered me for one of my fights and he knows the game really well. He’s been a fan of this sport since before I even knew what MMA was. He’s actually the first person I go to when I’m looking at a new opponent. I ask him if he thinks I can beat her because I value his opinion.”
VanZant adds: “I really enjoyed the discipline that comes with the sport. I danced for such a long time that I became burnt out from it and needed something else that would be a challenge for me. I found MMA was way different than anything else I’d done before so it was nice to have a new challenge.”
When VanZant turned 18, she moved to Las Vegas for a year to delve deeper into the sport, but couldn’t find a team she connected with. Desperate to fulfill her dreams of becoming a professional fighter, the former culinary arts student packed up again and traveled to Sacramento to learn her trade at one of the toughest gyms in the world.
“I was young and by myself in Vegas so it was a lot for me,” she says. “I’d seen that another girl from Reno had gone out to Team Alpha Male and had a lot of success so I figured I might as well go and check it out.
“It’s also really close to my parents too. I’m really close to my family and friends and they’re only a few hours away. Team Alpha Male was just a really good fit for me. It’s been great training alongside champions.”
Working with elite fighters like Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes, TJ Dillashaw and Joseph Benavidez means VanZant has sharpened her skills with some of the best on the planet. But she’s also been taught how to deal with everything else that comes with the fight game.
“Urijah has been really helpful to me,” she says. “I know that if there’s anything I need, all I have to do is ask him. He helps me for fights and dealing with the media. Urijah has gone through everything I could ever go through so it’s nice to have someone there with that sort of experience.”
Since her ‘Fight of the Night’ performance in her Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 57, VanZant has become one of the most talked about fighters in the promotion. In fact, her career has skyrocketed so much, she’s no longer angry about missing out on The Ultimate Fighter season 20.
The show pitted some of the top 115lb’ers in the world against each other to crown the UFC’s first strawweight champion, but VanZant was left to watch the competition unfold from home. Because she was only 20 years old at the time of filming, she couldn’t legally be locked in a house filled with alcohol. While the opportunity to take home the 115lb title was a tantalizing one, she now sees a silver lining to her situation.
“Not getting on The Ultimate Fighter really was a blessing for me. I saw the type of stuff that went on in the house and I’m not sure if I could’ve taken it. It was good to train with my team and get ready for my first fight in the UFC,” she says.
“I didn’t have to go through the pain of being away from my family for six weeks, which was nice. I think it would’ve been a good experience because they had some great coaches on the show, but I’m happy it turned out the other way.”
Her rise in popularity has led to some great opportunities over the last six months, including being named as one of the select few fighters in the UFC to be signed to an exclusive Reebok deal. However, Jon Jones’ situation is a cold reminder of what can happen if your feet come off the ground. And VanZant maintains, despite her success, she’s still focused on becoming the best fighter she can be.
“A lot of people my age fall into negative things but I think I’ve always been ahead of my time. I’ve been training since I was 15-16 so I knew what I wanted to do,” VanZant explains. “If I wasn’t doing this, I’d probably be doing what the average person my age would be doing, which is going out to party all the time. That’s something that doesn’t really appeal to me because I’ve always wanted to be successful.”
Even though she’s already surged up the UFC rankings, VanZant knows her road to title contention is a minefield filled with some of the toughest 115lb fighters on the planet, each of them looking to make a name for themselves by taking the UFC’s latest golden girl out in impressive fashion.
Despite the perils ahead, VanZant isn’t too concerned. In fact, she’s excited to see how fast the UFC’s newest division grows in the coming years. She says: “The strawweight division is so new in the UFC you can’t even look at rankings because there are some incredible strawweights fighting for Invicta right now who haven’t made their way over to the UFC yet.
“Not to take anything away from Ronda Rousey, because I think she’s amazing and would be the champion regardless of who she fought at 135lb, but I don’t see as much talent in the 135lb division. With the strawweights, we’re all in amazing shape and we’re going to see a lot of talent come up in our division. I’m really excited to see how far I can go in this weight class.”
As she makes her way back from another day grinding on the Team Alpha Male mats, VanZant is exhausted. However, the ice-white smile she had when she was sat on her bed remains. She knows she’s on the right path to achieve her dreams. And she’ll be damned if anyone is going to stop her.
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