UFC President Dana White compares Paige VanZant to featherweight sensation Conor McGregor.
While Saturday night's UFC on FOX 15 fight card brought with it an array of exciting fights and unexpected stoppages, one of the more impressive showings on the entire card came from 21-year-old Paige VanZant. With just five professional fights notched under her belt, the rising star pushed the pace against the far more experienced Felice Herrig and dominated the entire encounter en route to a lopsided victory.
Given that VanZant came into her sixth fight with a significant amount of pressure and a lot to lose, she handed the stress with remarkable ease, so much so that she reminded UFC President Dana White of another one the fighters on his roster.
"It's almost like the Conor McGregor thing," White said during the post-fight press conference. "The guy bursts out of nowhere, explodes onto the scene and backs it up. And Paige VanZant did tonight, too. She looked unbelievable. And she is. She's one of those people that has that thing."
Some fans and pundits continue to grumble about the inexperienced VanZant landing a Reebok deal ahead of other fighters, but White believes the young talent has a certain charisma that simply cannot be taught.
"She's got that thing that I always talk about -- that thing you can't teach," White said. "Everybody in my dressing room tonight wanted to meet her. They were like, 'We want to meet Paige VanZant.' She's got that thing man. And she can fight."
While her performance was exceptionally impressive, it was clear that Paige was still quite raw in terms of her skillsets. However, if she continues to put on exciting fights such as her past two UFC outings, White has high hopes for her in the near future.
"She's 21 years old," White said. "She doesn't have a lot of experience. But boy, she's a scrapper. She comes in and she fights. Taking on a veteran like Felice and doing what she did to Felice tonight ... "
Transcription taken from MMAFighitng.com.
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