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Tag: Paige VanZant

  • Paige VanZant To Put On Her Dancing Shoes for ‘DWTS’

    Paige VanZant, a UFC strawweight, will be trading her fighting gear for a dress and dancing shoes as she joins the cast of Dancing with the Stars for Season 22.

    VanZant, 21, joins other celebrities and sports stars, including Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin and Super Bowl champion Von Miller, lined up to compete for the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy.

    According to Fox Sports, VanZant is the first UFC fighter to join the series as an active competitor. UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture appeared on the show, but didn’t compete.

    It seems as if VanZant will be a natural on the show, considering she danced competitively throughout her childhood before she became a star for mixed martial arts fighting.

    “I hope so,” VanZant said in a telephone interview from New York. “I hope I’m able to channel some of that and do well.”

    VanZant is ranked seventh in the women’s 115-pound division and made her promotional debut in November 2014.

    The next few months will be busy ones for VanZant. She is expected to continue training for her return to the Octagon later this year while competing on the show.

    VanZant says she is targeting UFC 200 for her next fight but she’ll look to knock out a Dancing with the Stars championship first.

    Season 22 premiers March 21 on ABC.

  • “Fuller House” Cast Supports Jodie Sweetin’s “Dancing With the Stars” Gig

    The Fuller House cast is behind Jodie Sweetin as she prepares to compete on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars. Sweetin recently reprised her role as Stephanie Tanner on the Full House reboot.

    “I think so many people know me as Stephanie and as that character, which is amazing and there’s been incredible support for it,” Sweetin said in an interview with People magazine on Tuesday. “But now I get to show people who I am and also, I kind of get to find out stuff about myself.”

    Jodie Sweetin isn’t the first of her Fuller House cast mates to compete on Dancing With the Stars. Candace Cameron Bure, who plays DJ Tanner, competed on season 18 of Dancing With the Stars, alongside Mark Ballas. She can’t wait to see her Fuller House co-star compete.

    “I am so ready; I am more than ready,” she told E! News when Sweetin confirmed she was competing. “I am just there. I will try not to take over for her because I might nudge myself back onto that dance floor.”

    Jodie Sweetin has met her dance partner, Keo Motsepe, and thinks they are a good match. The Fuller House star will compete against Good Morning America’s Ginger Zee, The O.C.’s Mischa Barton, Denver Broncos linebacker (and recent Super Bowl MVP) Von Miller, TV news personality Geraldo Rivera, The Facts of Life and The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Fields, UFC Fighter Paige VanZant, Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris, former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, America’s Next Top Model winner Nyle DiMarco, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and actress (and ex-wife of current GOP hopeful Donald Trump) Marla Maples.

    It will be fun to watch Jodie Sweetin compete on season 22 of Dancing With the Stars. It will be fun to see if her Fuller House cast mates show up in the audience from time to time, too.

    The new season of DWTS premieres on March 21.

  • Paige Vanzant: MMA “Wasn’t The Plan At All”

    Paige Vanzant is now a professional UFC fighter.

    She won her UFC debut Saturday, beating Kailin Curran (3-0) with a third-round TKO.

    Paige Vanzant used to be a model with no dreams of UFC success at all.

    “Oh gosh, this wasn’t the plan at all, at first,” Paige Vanzant told FOXSports.com before the fight.

    “When I started training to fight, it was more out of boredom than anything. I was looking for more things to do. I started with boxing, and my coaches told me I had a lot of potential (in MMA), and that I should consider making it a career. I was like, ‘Whatever.’”

    Paige Vanzant added, “I was just 15 at the time, and I never imagined something like that. When I turned 18, they asked if I would take a fight and I said, ‘Yeah.’ I won it and all of the sudden, there was all this interest and all these opportunities. I had just one amateur fight, then my coach got a call for a pro fight for me. I thought about it and said, ‘If I’d fight anyway, I might as well get paid for it.’”

    Thank you God for being in the cage with me. Thank you Reno academy of combat and my team. We did it!!!!!

    A photo posted by Paige VanZant (@paige_vanzant) on

    Yep, I think that was a call that anyone would have made.

    Heck yes!!!!!:) all weighed in fed and ready to fight!

    A photo posted by Paige VanZant (@paige_vanzant) on

    Before much time had passed, Paige Vanzant was fighting some of the toughest women in the world in her weight class.

    “Things kind of fell into place,” Vanzant said. “I didn’t have to worry about the next fight or next thing.”

    Well, now she should really start thinking about the next thing, because Paige Vanzant’s career is looking really bright and is just now getting off the ground.

    What do you think of Paige Vanzant’s transfer into the professional world of UFC?

  • Paige VanZant To Become Youngest UFC Female Fighter

    She’s a model and a dancer. Now Paige VanZant is about to become the youngest UFC female fighter ever and the second-youngest-fighter overall currently in the UFC. The 20-year-old will make her debut at UFC Fight Night in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She will take on fellow rookie, 21-year-old Kailin Curren, this October.

    VanZant almost appeared at The Ultimate Fighter 20 when her contract was picked up from Invicta last year. However, she was not allowed to fight because of her age. She turned 20 in March, and a fighter must be 21 before they can enter the TUF house to compete.

    The 5-foot-4 fighter from Nevada, who is 3 -1 as a professional, spoke about what she learned from her only pro loss, “When I fought Tecia Tores I finally came to the realization how much of a mental game fighting is. I have always been mentally focused and prepared before each fight except my fight against her, and it really showed. I know now to never step into the cage unless the only thing on my mind is how I am going to destroy my opponent.”

    All fighters have pre-fight routines, VanZant just likes to stay busy in order keep her mind clear, “I do everything I can to not think about the fight until I am walking out, otherwise I have an adrenalin dump. I get my nails done, watch my favorite tv shows, bake cookies. Whatever sounds nice that day. And then I get to the fight and warm up a little, once I walkout it’s on!!!”

    This will be VanZant’s first fight in 2014. Raphael Assuncao and Bryan Caraway are also scheduled to fight at UFC Fight Night on October 4 in Nova Scotia.

    Image via Twitter, Paige VanZant