Paige VanZant Explains Why Health Issues Forced Move To Flyweight
Rising contender Paige VanZant will be moving up in weight for her next fight, making the jump up from 115 pounds to 125 pounds where she’ll take on veteran Jessica Eye at UFC 216 on Oct. 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Despite seeing some success at strawweight, VanZant revealed on today’s (Sept. 5, 2017) edition of The MMA Hour that she has passed out multiple times while cutting weight, which is why she made the decision to move up:
“I kind of put my foot down on this one,” VanZant said. “It was time for me to move up.”
“It’s a big cut for me,” she added. “I’m a lot heavier than people realize. I was honestly killing myself for this sport. In my last I want to say two fights or three fights, I’ve passed out in my bathroom. This last one, I passed out and had the doctors almost not cleared me for the fight.”
“12 Guage” also admitted that her parents, who were in attendance for her most recent fight, a first-round submission loss to Michelle Waterson last December, played a factor in her decision:
“My parents have never seen me cut weight, but they watched this one and they told me if I ever did that again they were gonna disown me,” VanZant said. … “They thought, I’m killing myself for this and it’s not worth it. It’s not worth hurting myself physically for a sport.”
The women’s flyweight division is the newest weight class added by the promotion, and an inaugural champion will be crowned upon the completion of the The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 26.
VanZant seems to be pleased with the addition of the division, and at this point, it was a no-brainer for her to test the waters:
“The 125 division is finally getting built, so it just made sense for me to try it out,” VanZant said. “I’m moving up. I’m a big advocate for body positivity and I was putting myself through an eating disorder to make weight. And it became not fun for me anymore. I hate cutting. I hated the process. Obviously, passing out on your bathroom floor is not fun, because you’re dying in a bathtub.”
Do you expect VanZant to succeed in her new weight class?
