Paige VanZant nearly saw her awaited Octagon return fall apart.
The fan-favorite women’s flyweight was set to face Rachael Ostovich at the UFC’s debut on ESPN+ set for January 19. The fight was to be her first after two losses and a yearlong layoff due to a broken arm.
Then, a disturbing attack allegedly from Ostovich’s husband Arnold Berdon left her out of the fight with a broken orbital bone. Berdon is awaiting his next date in court on a second-degree assault charge. The Hawaiian contender sought a second opinion from a different doctor, however, and ultimately chose to follow through on the fight.
VanZant revealed to MMA Fighting that she nearly cried when she heard about the alleged attack on Ostovich. With Ostovich persevering and now set to fight, VanZant opened up on her new outlook on her opponent. She knows her opponent is extremely tough both mentally and physically because of what transpired:
“Of course, I don’t know all the details of what happened, I just knew a little bit,” VanZant said. “But I know that when she did come back and say, ‘I want to fight anyway,’ it gave me an alert, like ‘Hey, this girl is really tough.’
“So I know I’m fighting somebody that’s very strong and very mentally strong, because she’s gonna go in there and fight after going through some extreme trauma like this. It just tells me that I’ve gotta be ready for the fight and be ready for somebody to come out there and have a lot to fight for.”
An Important Platform
VanZant has been in similar situations in the past. Earlier this year, she penned a book called “Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life,” which detailed her own harrowing experience with being raped as a teen and a past abusive relationship. The card on which she’ll fight Ostovich was given even more weight when domestic abuser Greg Hardy was scheduled for his UFC debut alongside VanZant and Ostovich.
Because of their shared experiences, VanZant revealed she would like to address such sensitive topics publicly leading into the fight:
“Definitely, I would love to,” she said. “I hope that the UFC lets me and I hope the UFC really uses this to make a difference, because I know there has been other drama about the card and having some fighters on it. But I hope they use this moment to show powerful women, whether it just be her or whether it be both of us. To show you can fight through adversity and you can fight through these demons and still be a very successful person.”
Standing Up For Women’s Rights
VanZant knows that her and Ostovich, whom she said she likes outside of fighting, will have to ultimately fight. But that doesn’t mean they can’t use their platform to foster awareness for what they and countless other women have been through. To her, the platform she has is a prominent location to do so:
“At the end of the day, we’re gonna go out there and fight each other,” VanZant said. “We’re both trying to win a fight. But afterwards and even throughout the process, we can show how strong women are and use this to stand up for ourselves and stand up for women and women’s rights and everything that goes beyond — domestic violence and sexual abuse.
“Just use it to speak up. Even not changing anything, but just be a voice. I know we’re not the only ones who have been through it, it’s just ours are highlighted because we are on this platform.”
