Photo above: Paige VanZant is pictured following a bout against Felice Herrig on April 18, 2015.
Former M&F Hers cover star Paige VanZant had a rough go of it at UFC Fight Night 124 on Sunday. In her flyweight debut against Jessica Rose-Clark, VanZant threw a spinning back fist that broke her right arm in the second round.
Even though she was clearly in pain and told her corner that her arm was broken at the end of the second round, VanZant finished the match, losing by unanimous decision. It’s VanZant’s second consecutive loss, but her grit is undeniable. Here’s the moment when she took the shot that shattered her forearm:
VanZant made it through the fight, but later shared the x-ray of her arm on social media:
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
Despite the loss and the broken arm, she seemed to have her head up as usual, giving a thumbs up in one of the photos that she posted later in the evening.
VanZant also recently appeared in a video for The Player’s Tribune on YouTube to discuss the dangerous methods of weight cutting she’s used to get down to strawweight (her previous division, in which fighters weigh in at 115 lbs) in the past. She recalled praying not to die during a particularly difficult cut, and gave her input on the dangers of weight cutting as a whole. Check it out below:
Her debut in the recently created UFC women’s flyweight (125 lbs) division may not have been ideal, but VanZant says she’s thrilled that she’s now part of a division that she feels fits her size, she says in the video. Hopefully her recovery will be speedy, and we’ll get to see her back in the Octagon soon.
