History of Paige VanZant in Timeline
March 26, 1994
Paige Michelle VanZant (née Sletten; married name Vanderford; born March 26, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist, bare knuckle boxer, professional wrestler, professional boxer, slap fighter, author, model, and OnlyFans content creator. VanZant was previously signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she competed in the strawweight and flyweight divisions. Outside of mixed martial arts, VanZant has been involved in professional wrestling with All Elite Wrestling and in boxing with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Additionally, VanZant has appeared on the television shows Dancing with the Stars and Chopped.
June 30, 2012
After VanZant moved with her family to Sparks, Nevada, she was looking for a dance studio when she came across UFC veteran Ken Shamrock's gym, where she began training in boxing and other martial arts. After winning an amateur fight at age 18, VanZant made her professional MMA debut on June 30, 2012, at UWF's Tournament of Warriors finale against Jordan Nicole Gaza in Corpus Christi, Texas, winning by split decision. On September 22, 2012, she faced Amber Stautzenberger at Premier Fight Series 2 and won via unanimous decision.
January 05, 2013
VanZant faced Tecia Torres at Invicta FC 4: Esparza vs. Hyatt. The event was held on January 5, 2013, at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. VanZant was dominated on the feet for much of the fight and lost to Torres via a unanimous decision.
December 2013
In December 2013, VanZant was announced as one of 11 women signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for its newly created Strawweight division. It was also announced that she would compete as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter, a television reality series, as part of a tournament to crown the inaugural strawweight champion. However, on March 31, 2014, VanZant was turned away from the reality series because she was only 20 years old, and the minimum age to compete on it is 21 due to the presence of alcohol in the house.
August 2014
In August 2014, the UFC announced that VanZant would face Kailin Curran on October 4, 2014, in Halifax at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine, but VanZant suffered a back injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson. VanZant marked her UFC debut by defeating Curran by TKO in the third round, in a fight that would win Fight of the Night honors.
February 2015
After defeating Kailin Curran, VanZant enjoyed an increase in popularity. In February 2015, she was signed to a sponsorship deal with Reebok. This became a source of controversy due to her having only one UFC fight at the time. Some media outlets and fighters speculated that VanZant only received the deal due to her physical attractiveness. UFC president Dana White responded that she received the Reebok deal because of her "it" factor and personality.
April 18, 2015
VanZant faced Felice Herrig on April 18, 2015, in Newark, New Jersey, at UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold. Following a competitive first round, VanZant eventually overwhelmed Herrig with her grappling, winning by unanimous decision.
September 05, 2015
VanZant faced Alex Chambers on September 5, 2015, at UFC 191. After controlling most of the fight with aggressive strikes and grappling, she won via armbar submission in the third round.
September 17, 2015
VanZant signed a new contract with UFC on September 17, 2015. VanZant was expected headline UFC Fight Night 80 on December 10, 2015, against Joanne Calderwood. However, Calderwood was pulled from the fight in October and replaced by Rose Namajunas. VanZant lost the one-sided fight via submission in the fifth round.
March 08, 2016
On March 8, 2016, VanZant was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 22 of Dancing with the Stars. She partnered with professional dancer Mark Ballas. The couple reached the finals of the show and finished in second place behind model Nyle DiMarco and his partner Peta Murgatroyd.
August 27, 2016
Following her time on Dancing with the Stars, VanZant returned to the cage to face Bec Rawlings on August 27, 2016, at UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit. She won the fight via KO in the second round after landing a flying head kick and a flurry of follow-up punches. The win earned VanZant her first Performance of the Night bonus award.
December 17, 2016
In her next bout, VanZant faced Michelle Waterson on December 17, 2016, in the main event at UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson. She lost the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round.
March 03, 2017
On March 3, 2017, VanZant was announced as one of 16 celebrities taking part in a celebrity cooking competition on the Food Network TV series Chopped. She was featured in the "Star Power: Culinary Muscle" episode, alongside former NFL player LaMarr Woodley, female Olympic gold medalist fencer Mariel Zagunis, and former Olympic gold medalist figure skater Dorothy Hamill. VanZant made it through the appetizer, and entree rounds to compete in the dessert round against Hamill. She then edged out Hamill in the dessert round to become the Chopped winner.
August 2017
In August 2017, VanZant moved to the 125-pound flyweight division and was booked against Jessica Eye at UFC 216 on October 7. However, VanZant pulled out of the fight on September 25 citing a back injury, and further ailments such as a herniated disc, sinus infection, double ear infection, pink eye and ringworm.
2018
VanZant's debut in the flyweight division eventually took place in 2018 as she faced Jessica Rose-Clark on January 14, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. After breaking her arm in the second round when attempting a spinning backfist, she lost the fight via unanimous decision.
January 2018
In September 2018, VanZant married Austin Vanderford, a professional MMA fighter and a two-time NAIA All-American and national champion wrestler. The couple began dating the previous year, and Vanderford proposed to VanZant in January 2018.
April 10, 2018
VanZant released her biography, Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life on April 10, 2018. The book details her rise to fame, including her UFC battles, personal battles and appearances on Dancing with the Stars.
May 2018
In May 2018, VanZant confirmed that she had a breast augmentation, saying: "I'm a girl and always wanted my own boobs. They never came so I bought them."
January 19, 2019
After a year hiatus from competition due to a broken arm, VanZant faced Rachael Ostovich on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw. She won the fight via armbar submission in the second round.
April 13, 2019
VanZant was briefly linked to a matchup with Poliana Botelho on April 13, 2019, at UFC 236. However, just days after the pairing was leaked, VanZant announced that she would not be competing on the card due to a fractured right arm. Botelho remained on the card to face Lauren Mueller.
March 14, 2020
VanZant was scheduled to face Amanda Ribas on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170. However, VanZant was forced to pull out of the fight due to fracturing her right arm again (third such time for VanZant). She stated the injury was small and only needed 6–8 weeks to heal. VanZant requested to reschedule the bout one month later but Ribas decided to remain at the event and Randa Markos stepped in as the replacement. The bout with Ribas was rescheduled and eventually took place on July 12, 2020, at UFC 251. VanZant lost the fight via a submission in round one.
August 2020
In August 2020, VanZant signed a four-bout contract to fight exclusively in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship reportedly worth over $1 million.
February 05, 2021
VanZant made her debut for the promotion on February 5, 2021, against Britain Hart in the main event of BKFC: Knucklemania in Tampa, Florida. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.
July 23, 2021
VanZant faced Rachael Ostovich – whom she defeated in mixed martial arts at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw – at BKFC 19 on July 23, 2021. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. This fight earned her the Fight of the Night award. Following the loss, VanZant indicated her interest to resume MMA competition, speaking of her openness to join Bellator MMA.
September 15, 2021
On September 15, 2021, VanZant made her first professional wrestling appearance, appearing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on their Dynamite program with fighters from American Top Team. The following week on Rampage: Grand Slam, VanZant attacked Chris Jericho.
February 02, 2022
On the February 2, 2022, episode of Dynamite, American Top Team's Dan Lambert introduced VanZant to Brandi Rhodes, with VanZant later attacking Rhodes at his behest. The angle between VanZant and Rhodes was dropped after Brandi and her husband Cody announced that they were leaving AEW. On March 4, AEW founder Tony Khan tweeted that VanZant would sign with the promotion. VanZant appeared alongside her husband Austin Vanderford in the audience on the March 9 episode of Dynamite. During the main event, she attacked Tay Conti at ringside, distracting Sammy Guevara and assisting Scorpio Sky to win the TNT Championship. After the match, VanZant signed her AEW contract on top of Tay's body. On the May 27 episode of Rampage, it was announced that VanZant would make her in-ring debut at Double or Nothing, teaming with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky to face Conti, Guevara, and Frankie Kazarian. At the event, VanZant's team was victorious. VanZant last appeared for AEW in May 2022. After two years of inactivity, VanZant's profile was removed from the AEW website roster page on June 3, 2024, signifying her official departure from the company.
August 20, 2022
VanZant was scheduled to face Charisa Sigala at BKFC 27 on August 20, 2022. However, the fight was postponed to October 15, but was ultimately cancelled a week before the event.
September 2023
In September 2023, VanZant claimed in an interview with Barstool sports that she had earned more money in a 24 hour period with OnlyFans than she had in her entire fight career.
April 19, 2024
On April 19, 2024, it was announced that VanZant would make her professional boxing debut with Misfits Boxing on May 25 at the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas, against English OnlyFans model Elle Brooke as the headline bout for MF & DAZN: X Series 15 for the MFB women's middleweight championship. VanZant later revealed that she had signed a multi-fight deal with Misfits Boxing. The bout ended in a split draw.
June 28, 2024
VanZant made her slap fighting debut against Christine Volmarans at Power Slap 8 on June 28, 2024. She won the bout by unanimous decision.
October 24, 2024
VanZant made her second slap fighting appearance against Chelsea Dodson on October 24, 2024 at Power Slap 9. The bout ended in a draw.
January 02, 2025
On January 2, 2025, it was reported that VanZant had signed with Global Fight League.