Paige VanZant Denies That She’s Still Very Green
Paige VanZant will be headlining her second ever UFC card this weekend when she battles former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Michelle Waterson at UFC On Fox 22.
While Waterson will be main eventing her first ever UFC show, she believes that VanZant is still “very green” as a fighter, something VanZant disagrees with.
"Everyone thinks I'm super green, but I'm not," VanZant said on The MMA Hour. “I have confidence in my skill and I know I've worked hard for this fight, so I'm excited to go in there and show my athletic capabilities. I have skills that I showed in my last fight, my athletic capabilities, with that awesome head kick knockout, so I'm ready to go in there and show a little more fireworks. It is funny. When I first started fighting, Michelle Waterson and Felice Herrig and all these girls, they had already held belts in the division. You know, I understand people think I'm green, or think I'm new to the sport. But I'm a high-level athlete and I learn very, very quickly. I have a high level of tenacity and that gets me a lot of victories and not a lot of people have that."
PVZ admitted she was shocked to learn she'd be in the main event.
"I actually didn't find out I was the main event until it was announced on Twitter," VanZant said. "I was like ‘Am I in main event?' and it was confirmed. It was a huge, super exciting thing, I called my parents. It's crazy to me I get to be on the main event again. It's a huge deal to have Urijah on it fighting for the last time. It's bittersweet, I cant wait to see him dominate."
It is going to be an emotional night for VanZant, who will be competing on the same card as her mentor in Urijah Faber — who is set to retire at the event.
"It feels amazing just having Urijah on this fight card," VanZant said. "He's passing the torch to us. He's been very influential for every single fight. This is his last fight in the UFC, he's still influential to me in my fight career. There's no added pressure, but it's a moment I'm never going to forget. It's a big deal."
UFC On Fox 22 takes place on Saturday, December 17 from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California with Paige VanZant and Michelle Waterson headlining.
