VanZant fighting out UFC contract to prove what she's worth
Recovering from her latest arm surgery, flyweight Paige VanZant doesn't want to sign a new deal with the UFC until she finishes her current contract.
"I’ll be fighting out (my UFC contract)," VanZant told theScore. "I feel like I want to prove to the UFC what I’m worth. I think it’s going to take one more fight for me to do that. Especially because you’re easily forgotten, I feel like, in the fight world. (The fans) watch a fight happen and they’re already focussed on the one that’s happening next week. So I want it to be fresh in their minds going into a contract negotiation, not fresh off of a broken arm."
VanZant (8-4) last competed in January, when she submitted Rachael Ostovich in the second round at UFC Brooklyn. Following the victory, the 25-year-old had to undergo her third arm surgery since 2018, and she remains sidelined.
While she waits for clearance from doctors to resume training, VanZant will watch her husband Austin Vanderford compete on Aug. 24 at Bellator 225.
With free agency potentially looming, "12 Gauge" didn't completely shut the door on joining her husband in rival promotion Bellator.
"Of course I would love to fight with my husband on a card, I think it’s amazing," VanZant said. "I don’t know if we would be able to with just the nerves, you know? That whole side of it. Because I get more nervous for him fighting than I do with myself fighting. It’s extremely nervous.
"For me, more than anything, I’m focused on my next UFC fight. I’m excited to get back in there."
Watch the full interview with VanZant below and subscribe to theScoreMMA Youtube channel here.