Tag: Dancing With The Stars

So Paige VanZant is Pretty Much Crushing It on Dancing With the Stars [VIDEO]

The history of UFC fighters appearing on Dancing With the Stars has been a brief but painful one. Chuck Liddell was the first to break the mold in Season 9, getting axed after the 4th week and finishing in 11th place (out of 16) overall. His old rival Randy Couture was next to appear some ten seasons later, but met a similarly swift end. Big Nog and Denis Kang also appeared in the Brazilian and Korean versions of the show, respectively, but failed to make it past the first few rounds. Who would think that professional fighters would have such notoriously terrible footwork?

Enter UFC strawweight Paige VanZant, who announced earlier this month that she had signed on to join the 22nd season (!) of the hit ABC competition show following her hard-fought loss to Rose Namajunas last year. Given VanZant’s athleticism and background as a former dancer, it seemed as if she would be the first MMA fighter to actually excel on the show, and she’s done nothing short of that thus far.

Last night, VanZant overcame a last-minute injury (of her dancing partner, Mark Ballas) to claim the highest score of the season, a 24, by dancing the tango alongside replacement partner Alan Bersten. Check out the video of her performance above.

After the jump: VanZant’s debut performance from the first episode of the season.

The post So Paige VanZant is Pretty Much Crushing It on Dancing With the Stars [VIDEO] appeared first on Cagepotato.

The history of UFC fighters appearing on Dancing With the Stars has been a brief but painful one. Chuck Liddell was the first to break the mold in Season 9, getting axed after the 4th week and finishing in 11th place (out of 16) overall. His old rival Randy Couture was next to appear some ten seasons later, but met a similarly swift end. Big Nog and Denis Kang also appeared in the Brazilian and Korean versions of the show, respectively, but failed to make it past the first few rounds. Who would think that professional fighters would have such notoriously terrible footwork?

Enter UFC strawweight Paige VanZant, who announced earlier this month that she had signed on to join the 22nd season (!) of the hit ABC competition show following her hard-fought loss to Rose Namajunas last year. Given VanZant’s athleticism and background as a former dancer, it seemed as if she would be the first MMA fighter to actually excel on the show, and she’s done nothing short of that thus far.

Last night, VanZant overcame a last-minute injury (of her dancing partner, Mark Ballas) to claim the highest score of the season, a 24, by dancing the tango alongside replacement partner Alan Bersten. Check out the video of her performance above.

After the jump: VanZant’s debut performance from the first episode of the season.

The post So Paige VanZant is Pretty Much Crushing It on Dancing With the Stars [VIDEO] appeared first on Cagepotato.

Paige VanZant Vaults Into Odds-On Favorite Role For “Dancing With The Stars”

What a difference 48 hours can make.

After being in the middle of the pack for the 22nd season of “Dancing with the Stars,” UFC strawweight Paige VanZant now sits atop the odds list as the series is set to begin.

VanZant was a 10-1 favorite, acco…

paige-vanzant-4

What a difference 48 hours can make.

After being in the middle of the pack for the 22nd season of “Dancing with the Stars,” UFC strawweight Paige VanZant now sits atop the odds list as the series is set to begin.

VanZant was a 10-1 favorite, according to numbers published by MMAjunkie.com on Tuesday. However, after moving to 5-1 later in the day, she now finds herself as the favorite at 2-1, right ahead of NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, NFL linebacker Von Miller and singer Wanya Morris.

Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture both previously competed on DWTS, placing 11th each.

The series begins airing Monday on ABC with Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews as hosts.

Paige VanZant Selected To Appear On Dancing With The Stars

Months back, current UFC women’s strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha labeled fellow contender Paige “12 Gauge” VanZant as a “pretty dancer” rather than a fighter. Although she suffered a bloody loss in her last bout against Rose Namajunas, the 21-year-old VanZant has definitely proven herself to be a legitimate fighter despite her good looks, and

The post Paige VanZant Selected To Appear On Dancing With The Stars appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Months back, current UFC women’s strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha labeled fellow contender Paige “12 Gauge” VanZant as a “pretty dancer” rather than a fighter.

Although she suffered a bloody loss in her last bout against Rose Namajunas, the 21-year-old VanZant has definitely proven herself to be a legitimate fighter despite her good looks, and flashy charm.

However, it also appears as if Gadelha’s statement may have been partially correct, as it was announced today (March 8, 2016) that VanZant has been selected to be part of the cast of the 22nd season of ABC’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Reality show.

The move makes sense, as “12 Gaauge” has spoken on her interest in competitive dancing in the past.

The No. 7-ranked strawweight contender won’t be the first fighter to have appeared on the show either, as former champions Randy “The Natural” Couture and Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell took part in seasons 19 and nine respectively.

The upcoming season is set to premiere on March 21, 2016, lasting until sometime in May.

With that being said, the Team Alpha Male Staple will likely remain out of action until sometime late this summer at the earliest.

VanZant currently holds a 3-1 UFC record, and will look to get back to her winning ways upon her return.

The post Paige VanZant Selected To Appear On Dancing With The Stars appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Here’s the ‘Rocky’-Themed Pasodoble That Got Randy Couture Kicked Off ‘Dancing With the Stars’ [VIDEO]

(Props: DTWS via MMAJunkie)

Randy Couture‘s brief run as a television dance-show competitor came to an end last night, as he and partner Karina Smirnoff were voted off Dancing With the Stars season 19 following a mediocre pasodoble performance on week 3. Their dance was soundtracked by “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III. You know, because Randy’s a fighter? This is why MMA needs a more iconic song than “Face the Pain.”

Couture looked a little stiffer than he did during his alarmingly decent foxtrot on week 1, although the giant swing into jumping somersault that he pulls off at 1:09-1:17 was pretty badass. Ah well. Genius is never recognized in its own time. And now, we’ll go back to reporting on Randy Couture news that’s actually relevant.


(Props: DTWS via MMAJunkie)

Randy Couture‘s brief run as a television dance-show competitor came to an end last night, as he and partner Karina Smirnoff were voted off Dancing With the Stars season 19 following a mediocre pasodoble performance on week 3. Their dance was soundtracked by “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III. You know, because Randy’s a fighter? This is why MMA needs a more iconic song than “Face the Pain.”

Couture looked a little stiffer than he did during his alarmingly decent foxtrot on week 1, although the giant swing into jumping somersault that he pulls off at 1:09-1:17 was pretty badass. Ah well. Genius is never recognized in its own time. And now, we’ll go back to reporting on Randy Couture news that’s actually relevant.

VIDEO: Randy Couture’s Seductive Foxtrot on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

(Props: The DWTS YouTube channel)

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture made his ballroom debut last night on Dancing With the Stars Season 19, and completely BEASTED it. Couture’s foxtrot with Karina Smirnoff was good enough to earn a score of 31 from the judges, placing him at a very respectable sixth place out of the 13 contestants. Obviously, Alfonso Ribeiro landed in first place with a score of 36. On the other hand, Julianne Hough said Randy was “making [her] randy,” which is more valuable than any number on a scorecard.

Watch Randy Couture’s complete dance performance above, and if you have any good captions for the photo below, shoot ’em to us in the comments or on twitter.


(Props: The DWTS YouTube channel)

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture made his ballroom debut last night on Dancing With the Stars Season 19, and completely BEASTED it. Couture’s foxtrot with Karina Smirnoff was good enough to earn a score of 31 from the judges, placing him at a very respectable sixth place out of the 13 contestants. Obviously, Alfonso Ribeiro landed in first place with a score of 36. On the other hand, Julianne Hough said Randy was “making [her] randy,” which is more valuable than any number on a scorecard.

Watch Randy Couture’s complete dance performance above, and if you have any good captions for the photo below, shoot ‘em to us in the comments or on twitter.

Randy Couture Added to ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 19 Cast


(“And you say you’re self-taught? IMPOSSIBLE.”)

The cast of Dancing With the Stars Season 19 was announced this morning, and to our great delight, it features 51-year-old UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture. The Expendables and Gym Rescue co-star (and expert tail-puller) has been partnered up with Karina Smirnoff for the season, which debuts September 15th on ABC.

Couture will wage ballroom warfare against an eclectic bunch of celebrities (and “celebrities”), including legendary pothead Tommy Chong, Olympian Lolo Jones, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air‘s Alfonso Ribeiro, who will surely be busting out the Carlton Dance at some point.

“The Natural” will be just the second UFC fighter to appear on the American version of DWtS, following Chuck Liddell in 2009, who was eliminated fifth on Season 9, and gave us some good laughs along the way. In 2012, Denis Kang appeared on the show’s South Korean version, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira appeared on Brazil’s “Dance of the Famous”.

After the jump: Some photos that Chuck and Anna Trebunskaya shot for SI after Season 9, just because they’re awesome.


(“And you say you’re self-taught? IMPOSSIBLE.”)

The cast of Dancing With the Stars Season 19 was announced this morning, and to our great delight, it features 51-year-old UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture. The Expendables and Gym Rescue co-star (and expert tail-puller) has been partnered up with Karina Smirnoff for the season, which debuts September 15th on ABC.

Couture will wage ballroom warfare against an eclectic bunch of celebrities (and “celebrities”), including legendary pothead Tommy Chong, Olympian Lolo Jones, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air‘s Alfonso Ribeiro, who will surely be busting out the Carlton Dance at some point.

“The Natural” will be just the second UFC fighter to appear on the American version of DWtS, following Chuck Liddell in 2009, who was eliminated fifth on Season 9, and gave us some good laughs along the way. In 2012, Denis Kang appeared on the show’s South Korean version, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira appeared on Brazil’s “Dance of the Famous”.

After the jump: Some photos that Chuck and Anna Trebunskaya shot for SI after Season 9, just because they’re awesome.