Paige VanZant

8 Stunning Ring Girls Who Became MMA Fighters

MMA is not a sport for the feint-hearted and few people are in a better position to witness that first-hand than the ring girls who sit front row at mixed martial arts events around the globe each and every week. Not all are put off by what by they see though, and in fact in

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Not all are put off by what by they see though, and in fact in some instances the chance to view the sport at such close quarters only serves to fuel their own competitive instincts and desire to train and compete.

Such is the case with the eight ring girls featured in this article, who have all proven the old age that ‘you should never judge a book by it’s cover’ to be true by being courageous enough to put it all on the line in an MMA fight, and for some that’s led to more success and a greater sense of accomplishment in the cage than on the catwalk.

These days Paige VanZant may be one of the most high-profile young stars in the UFC, but only a few short years ago she was just a humble ring girl working on the regional circuit.

PVZ briefly held the board for a number of promotions, including Shark Fights, but the former cheerleader never had any intention of seriously pursuing athat line of work further as her heart was already set on becoming a fighter.

”The only reason I did it was to get as close to the action as I could, and there were free tickets to the fights,” PVZ told Newsday in 2015.

’12 Gauge’ made her amateur MMA debut at 18 and just four fights into her professional career she had already signed for the UFC where she’s so far compiled a 4-2 run, taking her her overall record to 7-3.

VanZant’s swift to rise to stardom led to her securing a Reebok sponsorship deal, being offered a place on ABC’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’ in 2016 (finishing in second place) and also signing a book deal.

However, despite appearing to have the world at her feet the 22-year-old has turned down other opportunities, including an acting role in an upcoming ‘Kickboxer’ movie, to continue focusing on her MMA career, and with youth still very much on her side her best years in the Octagon are still to come.

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Urijah Faber Comments on Paige VanZant’s Team Alpha Male Status

UFC women’s strawweight prospect Paige VanZant hasn’t competed since suffering a disappointing first round submission loss to Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC on FOX 22 last December. Her next fight has yet to be booked, but rumors have swirled indicating that she has left her home at Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male

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Recently speaking on the topic, Faber said that “12 Gauge” purchased a home in Oregon, and that she may travel back to Sacramento for her camps, although she hasn’t formally left the team:

“She’s probably going to set up a home camp in Oregon, and I imagine she’ll probably travel for her camps,” Faber today told MMAjunkie. “I don’t know if she’ll travel here, or travel to L.A. But she’s welcome here, obviously.”

Faber admits that he’d have VanZant training full-time at Team Alpha Male if it was up to him, but he is also well-aware of the 22-year-old’s rising star power and the endless opportunities outside of fighting that have come with it:

“I’m not sure if she’s planning on doing that here or not,” Faber said. “We spoke briefly about it. I told her she’s always welcome. That’s a better question for her.

“She hasn’t officially said, ‘I’m never coming back.’ If it were up to me, I’d have her training in here all year ’round and having guys watch over her. But she’s got a unique setup, being a girl that’s from Oregon, living in Reno (Nev.), coming to Sacramento, being in the limelight so much.”

After losing two of her last three bouts, do you think a change of scenery is the right move for the young VanZant?

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Michelle Waterson Signs Huge Fight For UFC On FOX 24

“The Karate Hottie” has her next UFC fight set. After finishing popular fan favorite Paige VanZant in shockingly easy fashion at December’s UFC on FOX 22, word arrived on tonight’s (Sat., February 11, 2017) UFC 208 broadcast that Michelle Waterson will continue her quest towards a UFC women’s strawweight title shot by facing former title

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“The Karate Hottie” has her next UFC fight set.

After finishing popular fan favorite Paige VanZant in shockingly easy fashion at December’s UFC on FOX 22, word arrived on tonight’s (Sat., February 11, 2017) UFC 208 broadcast that Michelle Waterson will continue her quest towards a UFC women’s strawweight title shot by facing former title challenger Rose Namajunas at April 15’s UFC on FOX 24 from Kansas City, Missouri.

The former Invicta FC atomweight champion has won her only two UFC bouts, submitting Angela Magana in her UFC debut in July 2015 before a series of injuries delayed her next fight until the end of 2016.

The fight pits the rare match-up of a winning fighter facing an opponent coming off of a loss, as Namajunas lost a pivotal title eliminator against Karolina Kowalkiewicz in her last bout at July 2016’s UFC 201. Long billed as the future of the UFC strawweight division, “Thug” has displayed stints of brilliance and inconsistency in the octagon.

Namajunas boasts wins over VanZant, Tecia Torres, and Angela Hill, but has also lost to Carla Esparza, Torres, and Kowalkiewicz. She’s still ranked at No. 5 to Waterson’s No. 7. The promotion also announced a flyweight bout between Tim Elliot and Louis Smolka, a a middleweight bout between Andrew Sanchez and Anthony Smith, and a light heavyweight bout between Devin Collier and Jake Collier.

The first-ever UFC card from Kansas City will take place from the Sprint Center, with more bouts to be revealed in the coming weeks.

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Felice Herrig Says She Was Not ‘Medically Capable of Fighting’ Paige VanZant

Felice Herrig is not over her 2015 loss to Paige VanZant. “Lil’ Bulldog” suffered her first official defeat under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner against “12 Gauge.” The bout was on the main card of a UFC on FOX event in Newark, New Jersey. After defeating strawweight prospect Alexa Grasso last Saturday night, Herrig […]

Felice Herrig: UFC Owes Me Waterson Or VanZant

Veteran women’s strawweight contender Felice Herrig returned to action at last night’s (Feb. 4, 2017) UFC Fight Night 104 from Houston, Texas, scoring a victory over rising prospect Alexa Grasso. Herrig is now riding a two fight win streak, and she believes that the UFC owes her a bout with No. 7-ranked Michelle Waterson, or

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Veteran women’s strawweight contender Felice Herrig returned to action at last night’s (Feb. 4, 2017) UFC Fight Night 104 from Houston, Texas, scoring a victory over rising prospect Alexa Grasso.

Herrig is now riding a two fight win streak, and she believes that the UFC owes her a bout with No. 7-ranked Michelle Waterson, or a rematch with No. 10-ranked Paige VanZant:

“I would hope the UFC would do the right thing and give me either Paige or Michelle Waterson,” Herrig told MMAjunkie. “I wasn’t vocal about it, but I was offered the Waterson fight (at UFC on FOX 23), and I accepted it, and then two weeks later, I had it taken away from me and given to Paige.”

Waterson and VanZant ended up doing battle in the main event of UFC on FOX 23 where “The Karate Hottie” submitted “12 Guage” in the very first round.

As far her fight with Grasso goes, Herrig was considered by most to be the underdog, although she never felt that way:

“In my mind, I knew I wasn’t the underdog, and anyone who was around me knew that I wasn’t the underdog,” Herrig said of her win. “I think I had one bad performance, which clearly I’ve come back from.”

“I think sometimes the veterans get overlooked because we’re not these young, up-and-coming fighters that you can market,” Herrig said. “So we get left behind and forgotten about, and I wanted to prove, hey, I’m here. I never went anywhere.”

That ‘one bad performance’ Herrig is referring to was a 2015 decision loss to VanZant.

Should “Lil’ Bulldog” be granted her wish and booked against Waterson or VanZant next?

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Paige VanZant Spends Time Training With Cris Cyborg

UFC strawweight Paige VanZant recently indicated she was looking at getting back in the octagon soon. With that in mind, it appears she’s also training with the most feared female fighter on the planet – none other than Cris “Cyborg” Justino. VanZant, who recently inked a book deal in order to publish her memoir, posted […]