So far, the Paige VanZant gamble has largely worked out. For her and for the UFC. The promotion pushed her for a spot on Dancing with the Stars, saw her profile rise with a second-place finish on the show, and then pulled her back in for a featured spot on UFC on Fox. With another crowd of millions watching on Saturday night, VanZant orchestrated the night’s flashiest moment, a switch kick leading to a knockout of Bec Rawlings.
It looked like something she might have practiced on the dance floor, dazzling and elegant and perfectly timed.
It will no doubt help her profile rise even further.
It will also bring problems along with it.
At some point soon, she will become torn on which direction to go. You can almost bank on it. We’ve seen it too many times already, and she’s the next one to face temptation from elsewhere. There will be more attention, more opportunities and probably more money. She is young (22 years old) and talented and attractive, and the entertainment world will start whispering in her ear.
And when there is more attention, opportunities and money, distractions follow.
She’s already had a taste of Hollywood and was offered a movie role that she ultimately turned down in order to fight, according to TMZ.
But as her name grows, the offers will improve, putting the UFC in a position to compete for a talent that is already under contract.
Earlier this week, during a pre-fight interview with media, VanZant was asked about her reaction to the huge payday earned by Conor McGregor at UFC 202. Her answer was illuminating, mentioning that during her time on DWTS, she got to understand how much other athletes make.
“I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t make that much money,’” she said.
Uh-oh.
According to Nevada Athletic Commission numbers released to the media after her last fight, VanZant earned a $40,000 purse.
Last night, she earned at least triple that, since she added a win bonus and performance award to her nightly take. It was a nice payday. Still, the temptation to do other things will come. It’s inevitable.
For her part, VanZant (7-2) has said all the right things. That fighting is her first love, that everything else will have to play second fiddle, that she is happy at this stage of the game.
“I know that people want me because I’m different,” she said in the UFC on FOX post-fight show. “If I wasn’t a fighter, I wouldn’t be unique. People like me because I’m an MMA fighter and a chick who fights, and that’s why I’m desired outside of the octagon. I knew with the Kickboxer movie that it would cut into this fight camp, and I had to turn it down. The timing wasn’t going to work. I wanted to stay focused for this fight. If other opportunities arise that don’t cut into fight camps, I’m definitely going to pursue them, but if I have a fight lined up, that’s going to be the priority.”
For these last eight weeks at least, she proved that to be true. After a nightmare evening her last time out against Rose Namajunas, her ability to put a frustrating loss behind her and rebound was a good sign. But Rawlings, unlike Namajunas was unranked, and VanZant went in as the favorite.
This time around, she delivered, but after winning and admitting that she would pursue certain opportunities, there will be questions about whether time away from the gym will help or hurt her. There is no question that she is still a developing fighter, and that there are many techniques that need sharpening.
Much of what she’s done has been due to her athleticism and will to succeed. Those are two excellent building blocks for success, but there are plenty of fighters ahead of her in the rankings who have them and then some. And they also do not have the same distraction possibilities staring them in the face. They are waking up and focusing on improving their fight games. Putting in their time on the bag. In sparring. Rolling in jiu jitsu. The game waits for no one.
“I actually think it’s funny when people keep saying I left fighting or I took a break when there’s a lot of other fighters who have much longer layoffs than I did,” she said in the post-fight press conference.
Uh-oh.
Here’s the thing: she did take a break. She did have a layoff. Eight months, but who’s counting? To be clear, time off is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it’s good to step back and recharge, and that formula worked well this time around. But if she continues to entertain these offers, if time away becomes a growing trend, there is a real chance her growth as a fighter may be stunted.
Even though she voiced a hope to fight on the Dec. 17 card in Sacramento, it may be wise to start finding peace with it all now. Maybe VanZant will find that she likes Hollywood a lot more than she expected, and that Hollywood likes her, too. Maybe this fight thing is just a stop on the way to something greater. If that’s the case, that’s fine. She doesn’t owe the sport anything.
But if she wants to reach her potential in the Octagon, if she wants to supplement her raw skills and maximize her talent, it probably won’t do.
For VanZant, the next steps are coming, and they're tricky ones. Unlike that TV show she took part in, she’ll have to figure these out all on her own.
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