WHERE IS PAIGE VANZANT? Dear fans I know quite a few of you are wondering why I am not in my training camp. I left Sacramento to come back to my home state and have been in intense physical therapy from a spine injury. I do not have insurance coverage in California and I have not been giving the okay to train at this time. I am working hard to get better. Prayers up for a good recovery. Thank you so much for all your kind words it is such a blessing to have such an amazing team behind me.
Though VanZant didn’t say that her UFC Fight Night 54 bout against Kailin Curran was officially off, it seems unlikely that she’ll be able to make the October 4th date, considering that she isn’t currently cleared to train. We’ll keep you posted.
These days, Paige is paying the bills as a model and dancer for Karen Burns Productions, a Reno-based outfit that provides costumed entertainers for special events. A brief sampling of some of her recent work is below…
WHERE IS PAIGE VANZANT? Dear fans I know quite a few of you are wondering why I am not in my training camp. I left Sacramento to come back to my home state and have been in intense physical therapy from a spine injury. I do not have insurance coverage in California and I have not been giving the okay to train at this time. I am working hard to get better. Prayers up for a good recovery. Thank you so much for all your kind words it is such a blessing to have such an amazing team behind me.
Though VanZant didn’t say that her UFC Fight Night 54 bout against Kailin Curran was officially off, it seems unlikely that she’ll be able to make the October 4th date, considering that she isn’t currently cleared to train. We’ll keep you posted.
These days, Paige is paying the bills as a model and dancer for Karen Burns Productions, a Reno-based outfit that provides costumed entertainers for special events. A brief sampling of some of her recent work is below…
(Hey you, second from the right…you wanna fight Kailin Curran in six weeks?)
“You know what, Paige has left. She hasn’t been around at all. I guess she, I don’t know, I asked what was going on. She was renting a room in Sacramento, and the person who she was renting from got evicted and took all her money, and I don’t know, she hasn’t been around. I told her, let me know if there’s any way I can help. I think she’s out in Reno training with her jiu-jitsu people or something. I don’t know where she is, man, for like the last month and a half or so, so I haven’t seen her…”
“I just texted her yesterday to ask her how training is going. I haven’t heard back from her, so I don’t know, man. She’s 20 years old, she’s young. She’s a very good athlete, she’s still developing as a fighter, she believes in herself, she’s a great looking girl. I think she’s got a lot of potential. I mean, I would feel most comfortable if she was on the team. If she’s going to represent the team, she needs to be in the gym. And so as of right now, she’s not going to be able to represent the team when she fights.”
“You know what, Paige has left. She hasn’t been around at all. I guess she, I don’t know, I asked what was going on. She was renting a room in Sacramento, and the person who she was renting from got evicted and took all her money, and I don’t know, she hasn’t been around. I told her, let me know if there’s any way I can help. I think she’s out in Reno training with her jiu-jitsu people or something. I don’t know where she is, man, for like the last month and a half or so, so I haven’t seen her…”
“I just texted her yesterday to ask her how training is going. I haven’t heard back from her, so I don’t know, man. She’s 20 years old, she’s young. She’s a very good athlete, she’s still developing as a fighter, she believes in herself, she’s a great looking girl. I think she’s got a lot of potential. I mean, I would feel most comfortable if she was on the team. If she’s going to represent the team, she needs to be in the gym. And so as of right now, she’s not going to be able to represent the team when she fights.”
Huh. Remember when we all learned that “Hammer House” was really just Mark Coleman’s porch, which used to have a punching bag until Kevin Randleman stole it? That’s the kind of free-form, “independent” training environment that a fighter needs to avoid going into the biggest fight of his/her life. But with her UFC debut less than two months away, it might be too late for VanZant to integrate herself into another world-class fight team for this camp. Best of luck, kid.
To borrow a phrase from the CME, these two certainly look good getting off the bus. On the other hand, VanZant and Curran land on the low end of the UFC experience spectrum, to put it gently. VanZant is 3-1 professionally with all three of those wins coming against women who were making their pro debuts. Curran’s pro record is a similar 3-0, with all three victories by unanimous decision under the Pacific Xtreme Combat banner — and none of those wins coming against an opponent with a winning record.
VanZant and Curran have something else in common: They both tried out for TUF 20. While VanZant was blocked from the show due to age requirements, Curran simply didn’t make the cut. Or maybe the UFC hand-picked her as VanZant’s first opponent, for aesthetic reasons.
Speaking of which, 12 more photos of Kailin Curran are in the gallery after the jump. Enjoy, and check out her Instagram page for more.
To borrow a phrase from the CME, these two certainly look good getting off the bus. On the other hand, VanZant and Curran land on the low end of the UFC experience spectrum, to put it gently. VanZant is 3-1 professionally with all three of those wins coming against women who were making their pro debuts. Curran’s pro record is a similar 3-0, with all three victories by unanimous decision under the Pacific Xtreme Combat banner — and none of those wins coming against an opponent with a winning record.
VanZant and Curran have something else in common: They both tried out for TUF 20. While VanZant was blocked from the show due to age requirements, Curran simply didn’t make the cut. Or maybe the UFC hand-picked her as VanZant’s first opponent, for aesthetic reasons.
Speaking of which, lots more photos of Kailin Curran are in the gallery above. Enjoy, and check out her Instagram page for more.
(You mean we don’t get to see THIS WOMAN get into drunken pillow fights with Thug Rose? *throws TV out window*)
You guys remember Paige VanZant, right? Unbelievably, just impossibly adorable model who also happens to be a legitimate MMA fighter at only 20 years of age? Yeah, her. Well it turns out that, contrary to earlier reports, the lovely Ms. VanZant will *not* be among the dozen or so Invicta strawweights competing on the upcoming, all-women season of The Ultimate Fighter, TUF 20. The reason: She’s too young to drink, and the TUF house is nothing if not a place for drunken dude-bros — and now, dude-broads — to get into shouting matches over whom should allow whom to bang.
News of VanZant’s ineligibility came directly from her Alpha Male training partner, Urijah Faber, who told Bloody Elbow that “12 Gauge” has “now signed straight with the UFC” in light of the TUF development.
While this means that VanZant won’t be given a shot at the inaugural strawweight title, it also means that she won’t be subjected to twoish months of reality show hell and the downright laughable UFC contract that follows. Toss in the fact that she’ll have the benefit of not only watching all her future competitors in action, but continue training with Team Alpha Male while doing so, and it seems like a win to me.
(You mean we don’t get to see THIS WOMAN get into drunken pillow fights with Thug Rose? *throws TV out window*)
You guys remember Paige VanZant, right? Unbelievably, just impossibly adorable model who also happens to be a legitimate MMA fighter at only 20 years of age? Yeah, her. Well it turns out that, contrary to earlier reports, the lovely Ms. VanZant will *not* be among the dozen or so Invicta strawweights competing on the upcoming, all-women season of The Ultimate Fighter, TUF 20. The reason: She’s too young to drink, and the TUF house is nothing if not a place for drunken dude-bros — and now, dude-broads — to get into shouting matches over whom should allow whom to bang.
News of VanZant’s ineligibility came directly from her Alpha Male training partner, Urijah Faber, who told Bloody Elbow that “12 Gauge” has ”now signed straight with the UFC” in light of the TUF development.
While this means that VanZant won’t be given a shot at the inaugural strawweight title, it also means that she won’t be subjected to twoish months of reality show hell and the downright laughable UFC contract that follows. Toss in the fact that she’ll have the benefit of not only watching all her future competitors in action, but continue training with Team Alpha Male while doing so, and it seems like a win to me.
Props to BabesofMMA and MMAJunkie for turning us on to Paige VanZant, a 2-0 professional MMA fighter who will be facing Tecia Torres on the prelims of this Saturday’s Invicta 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt event in Kansas City.
A model and student-athlete since childhood, the 18-year-old fighter began training in MMA when she was 15, and currently trains at the House of RYU in Las Vegas. Paige began competing this year, first picking up an amateur win in April, then winning decisions in professional matches against Jordan Gaza and Amber Stautzenberger. (She’s also done ring girl gigs for Shark Fights and Ultimate Reno Combat.) According to this Examiner article, Paige likes wrestling and throws, doesn’t enjoy getting hit in the face, and her future goals include opening a restaurant and fighting Cris Cyborg.
Check out lots more of our favorite Paige VanZant photos in the gallery after the jump — as well as four bonus videos of Paige chatting, fighting, and steam-mopping — and follow her life on Facebook and Twitter.
Props to BabesofMMA and MMAJunkie for turning us on to Paige VanZant, a 2-0 professional MMA fighter who will be facing Tecia Torres on the prelims of this Saturday’s Invicta 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt event in Kansas City.
A model and student-athlete since childhood, the 18-year-old fighter began training in MMA when she was 15, and currently trains at the House of RYU in Las Vegas. Paige began competing this year, first picking up an amateur win in April, then winning decisions in professional matches against Jordan Gaza and Amber Stautzenberger. (She’s also done ring girl gigs for Shark Fights and Ultimate Reno Combat.) According to this Examiner article, Paige likes wrestling and throws, doesn’t enjoy getting hit in the face, and her future goals include opening a restaurant and fighting Cris Cyborg.
Check out lots more of our favorite Paige VanZant photos in the gallery above — as well as the four bonus videos below of Paige chatting, fighting, and steam-mopping — and follow her life on Facebook and Twitter.
Bonus videos:
(“Real Girls Kick Ass” video profile from 2011. Props: rmsellars)
(Highlights of Paige VanZant’s first amateur fight against Morgan Hunter. Props: Gofightlive)
(Paige VanZant vs. Jordan Gaza, 6/30/12. Props: Mike Jackson)
(Paige VanZant sells the hell out of the Bissell Steam Mop Deluxe, circa 2010. Hey, we all gotta pay the bills.)
