Paige VanZant is an American mixed martial artist who previously fought in Invicta FC and is currently a flyweight division fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Since she prevailed in her first amateur contest at 18, she has been engaged in professional combat.
She acquired a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at 19, competing for four years in the strawweight division before recently switching to the flyweight division. She was a tough tomgirl who survived bullying when she was a teen and later trained in mixed martial arts and obtained a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
She is renowned for using forceful grappling techniques to finish off opponents. She applies relentless pressure to her opponent and frequently employs dirty boxing, ground-and-pound, and a variety of clinch strikes. She has posed for brands like Columbia Sportswear, Reebok, and Nike.
She has experience dancing and has competed in the celebrity dance reality series “Dancing with the Stars,” where she placed second. She defeated several other sports stars in the celebrity cooking competition “Chopped,” which she ultimately won.
Paige VanZant Net Worth
As of 2023, The estimated net worth of Paige VanZant is $1.5 million. This has mainly been through her MMA career and subsequent foray into her OnlyFans-style FanTime website, paigefanzant.com. VanZant won $81,000 for her maiden UFC victory, a TKO victory over Kailin Curran at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson.
Her largest payout came from Maia vs. Condit at UFC on FOX, where she faced Bec Rawlings. That evening, PVZ returned home $132,500 richer.
Paige VanZant Early Life
Paige Michelle VanZant was reared in Dayton, Oregon, and was born on March 26, 1994, in Dundee, Oregon. In the dance studio run by her parents, she spent more than 13 years learning ballet, jazz, and hip-hop dancing.
She was a tomboy in her younger years, preferring to go outside over playing video games or spending time on social media. Her father, who gave her the moniker “12 Gauge,” loved taking her hunting and fishing. She used to play boxing with her older brother and other boys in the area as the younger of two kids.
She had a passion for dirt biking and acquired her first ATV when she was eight. She performed as a kid actor before making her teen acting debut in a Bissell mop commercial. In high school, she competed on the varsity cheerleading squad.
She was one of the school’s shortest students, standing at just under 5 feet tall, and a bunch of females started picking on her because of this. After her first year, her family moved to Sparks, Nevada, where she attended TMCC High School until graduating in 2012.
Paige VanZant Career-The Ultimate Fighter
After relocating to Sparks, Paige VanZant discovered Ken Shamrock’s gym, The Lion’s Den, while seeking a dance studio. She began boxing at 15 on her father’s advice and switched to mixed martial arts. She achieved a submission in barely 50 seconds of her first amateur battle in April 2012.
Her coach soon got her a call for a professional fight, quickly giving her access to new options. She made her professional MMA debut in June 2012 at the UWF’s “Tournament of Warriors” finals in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she defeated Jordan Nicole Gaza by a split decision.
Three months later, at Premier Fight Series 2, she defeated Amber Stautzenberger in her second professional match by unanimous decision. Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt, which took place on January 5, 2013, at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, was her next opponent, Tecia Torres.
She was dominated by Torres on the feet the entire match but was defeated by a unanimous decision. In December 2013, she received a call from UFC president Dana White unexpectedly, along with ten other women, offering her a contract for the organization’s newly established strawweight division.
She was also chosen to be a cast member on the reality television program “The Ultimate Fighter,” though she was later fired because she was underage.
Due to a back injury, Paige VanZant’s strawweight debut matchup with Kailin Curran at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine in Halifax was postponed from October 4 to November 22. She was awarded the “Fight of the Night” title and a $50,000 bonus for winning her first UFC fight in the third round by TKO.
Due to her sudden prominence, VanZant, who had previously worked as a model for Nike and Columbia Sportswear, was able to secure a sponsorship deal with Reebok in February 2015.
She was criticized because she had only one UFC victory at the time, and Dana White defended her by saying that she was given the deal because of her “it” factor and attitude. On April 18, 2015, in Newark, New Jersey, at UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold, she defeated Felice Herrig by unanimous decision to go to the next round of the UFC.
She outclassed Alex Chambers on September 5 of that year with aggressive attacks and grappling, and in the third round, she submitted him with an armbar.
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She was supposed to fight Joanne Calderwood on December 10 at UFC Fight Night 80, but Rose Namajunas ended up being her opponent, and she was defeated by submission in the fifth round of a one-sided fight.
On August 27, 2016, at UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit, she made a powerful return to the ring against Bec Rawlings, winning the bout via second-round KO. She received her first “Performance of the Night” bonus award thanks to the battle.
On December 17, 2016, in the main event of UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson, she competed in her final strawweight division match against Michelle Waterson, which she lost by technical submission. In August 2017, she switched to the 125-pound flyweight class. On October 7, she will compete against Jessica Eye at UFC 216.
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