Paige VanZant was confident a move from strawweight to flyweight would be just what she needed. Unfortunately for VanZant she met Jessica-Rose Clark in her debut in the new weight division. Clark, who had fought at bantamweight as recently as August, made the move down to flyweight when she entered the UFC in November.
Ahead of the fight, which was the co-main event of Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 124 card in St. Louis, VanZant spoke to MMAjunkie about how she felt the move to the higher weight division would benefit her.
“I feel like this the best I’ve ever felt going into a fight,” VanZant said. “The weight cut is what’s making all the difference. I feel amazing right now where I can actually go out there and have fun and show off some of the stuff I can do.
“The biggest difference is I’m going to go in there and feel good, honestly. I think I get to show off my skills. I’ve always been very athletic, and I’m going to show off my athletic capability a lot more now that I actually feel good going into the fight.”
VanZant, who lost the fight by unanimous decision, did not get the opportunity to showcase those capabilities.
Clark outmuscled VanZant, who had no answer for the ground game of her opponent. Clark won the fight with her grappling, heavy top game and submission attempts. For her part, VanZant, when she was able to keep the fight standing, relied heavily on flashy strikes that more often than not missed their target. And in the case of one spinning technique she threw in the first round, that left her with a broken right arm.
Well... I broke my arm in the first! I was able to finish the fight but as you can see, had a hard recovering and throwing my right. I’ll be back better and stronger than ever! it’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me. darn spinning back fist. pic.twitter.com/v5DhSv5YxD — Paige VanZant (@PaigeVanzantUFC) January 15, 2018
While the broken arm undoubtedly contributed to her loss on Sunday, VanZant has looked like the same fighter in her past few fights and that's a concern for a fighter the UFC has been pushing since she was signed by the promotion in 2014.
VanZant has to make some choices with her fighting career. She’s undoubtedly tough enough to hang in the UFC, something she displayed on Sunday and in her 2015 loss to current women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, but she might be too unfocused on her progress as a fighter.
With the attention the UFC has given her, VanZant has had many opportunities outside the cage. The drawback of those opportunities is that when she is participating in PR for the promotion or appearing on Dancing With the Stars, Chopped or thinking about a move to the WWE, it's not possible for her to be entirely invested in her training as a fighter. And that means she’s not learning or growing in a sport that an athlete shouldn’t be only partially invested in.
VanZant is just 23, she has plenty of time progress and move up the rankings, but if she wants to be a threat in the UFC, she needs to cut out the outside distractions. She needs to find a solid all-around gym and lock herself in that gym and do nothing but train, train and then train some more.
VanZant is now 1-3 in her four most recent bouts.
Paige VanZant has revealed the X-ray of her nasty broken arm after fighting on for almost 10 minutes with the injury in her loss to Jessica-Rose Clark.
VanZant shared a picture of herself in hospital with the swollen limb following her fight in Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 124 co-main event.
She even posted a snap of the gruesome X-ray, clearly showing a bone in her forearm painfully out of place.
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Paige VanZant's forearm was clearly fractured but she still took the fight to a decision
She posted this picture of herself with a swollen right arm in hospital after the fight
VanZant (right) broke her arm attempting a spinning backfist against Jessica-Rose Clark
The 23-year-old had attempted a spinning back fist at the start of the second round, connecting with Clark's head.
Despite connecting, it was VanZant who came away worse off, with her limb instantly swelling up.
It was a credit to her durability that she finished the fight at all, and only after the conclusion of the scrap did she clutch her wounded wing.
The former Dancing With the Stars competitor added a caption to her post-fight images: 'Well... I broke my arm in the first! I was able to finish the fight but as you can see, had a hard time recovering and throwing my right.
'Thank you to the fans and to my opponent. Thank you to my coaches and most importantly my head coach.
'12 Gauge' continued regardless but clutched her wounded limb after the final round
Clark (left) earned the decision victory and VanZant has lost three of her last four
'I’ll be back better and stronger than ever! It’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me. Darn spinning back fist.'
The adrenaline saw VanZant through until the end and she picked up plenty of admirers for her impressive show of bravery but she's now lost two consecutive fights.
No doubt '12 Gauge' will be seeking a rapid recovery and chance to get back in the winning column.
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images
Jeremy Stephens knocked out Doo Ho Choi to prevail in the main event of UFC Fight Night 124 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. In the second of the two main event fights, Jessica-Rose Clark earned a unanimous decision over Paige VanZant.
Stephens provided the most excitement on the night as he dispatched of Choi in the second round.
The turning point came when Stephens hit Choi with a hard right hand. That sent the 26-year-old to the canvas, where Stephens followed up with a right elbow. Choi tried to keep Stephens back, but Stephens landed another vicious right-handed shot.
The referee stepped in after the 31-year-old Iowa native hit a series of left elbows without reply.
The UFC shared a replay of the final sequence:
Below are the full results from UFC Fight Night 124 and a brief overview of how the rest of the main card shook out.
UFC Fight Night 124 Results
Main Card
Jeremy Stephens def. Doo Ho Choi, TKO (Round 2, 2:36)
Jessica-Rose Clark def. Paige VanZant, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Kamaru Usman def. Emil Meek, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darren Elkins def. Michael Johnson, submission (Round 2, 2:22)
Preliminary Card
James Krause def. Alex White, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marco Polo Reyes def. Matt Frevola, knockout (Round 1, 1:00)
Irene Aldana def. Talita Bernardo, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kyung Ho Kang def. Guido Cannetti, submission (Round 1, 4:53)
Jessica Eye def. Kalindra Faria, split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
J.J. Aldrich def. Danielle Taylor, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mads Burnell def. Mike Santiago, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
The biggest moment of the night didn't involve any of the fighters on the card.
Former welterweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes walked down to the Octagon nearly seven months after a truck he was driving collided with a train. Doctors placed Hughes in a coma shortly thereafter.
The UFC shared the tribute video that played before Hughes' arrival, as well as Hughes' arena entrance to overwhelming cheers from the St. Louis crowd:
The scene moved many on social media:
In the co-main event, VanZant suffered her third defeat in her last four fights.
An arm injury played a role in the result. Fox Sports: UFC shared a clip that showed that VanZant informed her corner she suffered a fracture in her right arm in the first round:
The fracture appeared to come when she misfired somewhat on a spinning back fist, with her right wrist and forearm catching Clark in the head.
Since she was essentially fighting with one arm, VanZant was unable to land many significant blows, and she couldn't get too bold with offense for fear of aggravating the injury.
That opened a door for Clark, who remained careful so as not to receive a left jab or kick from VanZant. The 30-year-old picked her spots well and connected with enough to be the clear winner.
The main card began with a bit of an upset as Darren Elkins submitted St. Louis native Michael Johnson in the second round.
Johnson appeared to be in the driver's seat after looking like the stronger fighter in the first round. He maintained that advantage until Elkins got Johnson on his back and locked in a rear-naked choke. With nowhere to go, Johnson had little choice but to tap out.
UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman was among those calling for Elkins to get a marquee fight after notching his sixth win in a row:
Whereas Elkins' turnaround was a big surprise, Kamaru Usman delivered exactly what was expected and largely dominated Emil Meek. Usman was especially adept at getting Meek on the ground, registering eight takedowns in the fight, according to UFC.com. Meek, on the other hand, didn't even get an official takedown attempt.
Usman's strategy wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing, but it's hard to argue with the results. MMAjunkie's Chamatkar Sandhu and former MMA fighter Dan Hardy offered differing opinions regarding the action inside the Octagon:
Hardy's assessment brought to mind UFC president Dana White's comments after Tyron Woodley beat Demian Maia at UFC 214 last July. White lamented how he thought Woodley could've wrapped things up before the fight went to the judges' scorecards.
As good as Usman performed, it wasn't all that unfair to wonder how good he would've looked if he had been a little more aggressive with Meek.
After the fight, Usman called out Colby Covington. Covington would be a stern test for The Nigerian Nightmare, and it could prove an opportunity for him to silence his skeptics.
