UFC on FOX 22: Michelle Waterson says Paige VanZant is a ‘great dancer,’ not an ‘amazing fighter’

Paige VanZant may have risen to fame thanks to her great dancing skills, perky attitude and having the rare “it factor,” but “12 Gauge” isn’t necessarily an “amazing fighter.” That’s according to Michelle Waterson, who will face VanZant in the main event of UFC on Fox 22 on Dec. 17, 2016, in Sacramento, California (more details here).

And it’s not a knock on the 22-year old — she is still very green in mixed martial arts (MMA), according to Waterson. That said, through hard work, VanZant has managed to amass success in and out of the Octagon, which is something that Waterson can’t hate on.

“I think it’s great. I even sent her a tweet while she was on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ You know what they say, ‘Don’t hate the player, hate the game,’ and her game is good. I can’t hate on that. She’s a beautiful person, she’s a great dancer. As far as her fighting skills, I wouldn’t go as far as to say she’s amazing. But, she is where she is now because of her hard work and I look forward to fighting her in December.”

When asked if she felt “12 Gauge” was on her level, fighting-wise, “Karate Hottie” didn’t mince her words.

“Yeah, for sure. I feel like she is just very green in the whole aspect of fighting. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I feel that’s why she has been winning a lot of her fights. It’s just like dancing — if you dance with someone who doesn’t know how to dance, it will throw your rhythm off. And that’s what Paige is doing in a sense in the fighting game. Her style is very erratic, and it’s unpredictable and it’s throwing these girls off because they are used to sparring with people that have a fight rhythm. She just doesn’t have that, so it’s throwing people off.”

Bec Rawlings can attest to VanZant’s unpredictable fighting style, falling victim to the Team Alpha Male-trained fighter’s flying kick at UFC on FOX 21 last August (see it here). Those unorthodox moves got VanZant back in the win column after suffering a setback against Rose Namajunas. As for Waterson, she made a splash in her Octagon debut by choking out Angela Magana in July 2015.

However, she’s been on the sidelines ever since because of some unfortunate injuries, which you can read more about here and here. She’ll look to pick up steam once again when she collides with one of the faces of UFC’s Strawweight division and perhaps steal some of her shine with a win.

And it happens to be on a free card that will have now have a few more eyeballs attached to it thanks to this announcement.

Paige VanZant may have risen to fame thanks to her great dancing skills, perky attitude and having the rare “it factor,” but “12 Gauge” isn’t necessarily an “amazing fighter.” That’s according to Michelle Waterson, who will face VanZant in the main event of UFC on Fox 22 on Dec. 17, 2016, in Sacramento, California (more details here).

And it’s not a knock on the 22-year old — she is still very green in mixed martial arts (MMA), according to Waterson. That said, through hard work, VanZant has managed to amass success in and out of the Octagon, which is something that Waterson can’t hate on.

“I think it’s great. I even sent her a tweet while she was on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ You know what they say, ‘Don’t hate the player, hate the game,’ and her game is good. I can’t hate on that. She’s a beautiful person, she’s a great dancer. As far as her fighting skills, I wouldn’t go as far as to say she’s amazing. But, she is where she is now because of her hard work and I look forward to fighting her in December.”

When asked if she felt “12 Gauge” was on her level, fighting-wise, “Karate Hottie” didn’t mince her words.

“Yeah, for sure. I feel like she is just very green in the whole aspect of fighting. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I feel that’s why she has been winning a lot of her fights. It’s just like dancing — if you dance with someone who doesn’t know how to dance, it will throw your rhythm off. And that’s what Paige is doing in a sense in the fighting game. Her style is very erratic, and it’s unpredictable and it’s throwing these girls off because they are used to sparring with people that have a fight rhythm. She just doesn’t have that, so it’s throwing people off.”

Bec Rawlings can attest to VanZant’s unpredictable fighting style, falling victim to the Team Alpha Male-trained fighter’s flying kick at UFC on FOX 21 last August (see it here). Those unorthodox moves got VanZant back in the win column after suffering a setback against Rose Namajunas. As for Waterson, she made a splash in her Octagon debut by choking out Angela Magana in July 2015.

However, she’s been on the sidelines ever since because of some unfortunate injuries, which you can read more about here and here. She’ll look to pick up steam once again when she collides with one of the faces of UFC’s Strawweight division and perhaps steal some of her shine with a win.

And it happens to be on a free card that will have now have a few more eyeballs attached to it thanks to this announcement.