Urijah Faber Comments on Paige VanZant’s Team Alpha Male Status
UFC women’s strawweight prospect Paige VanZant hasn’t competed since suffering a disappointing first round submission loss to Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC on FOX 22 last December. Her next fight has yet to be booked, but rumors have swirled indicating that she has left her home at Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California.
Recently speaking on the topic, Faber said that “12 Gauge” purchased a home in Oregon, and that she may travel back to Sacramento for her camps, although she hasn’t formally left the team:
“She’s probably going to set up a home camp in Oregon, and I imagine she’ll probably travel for her camps,” Faber today told MMAjunkie. “I don’t know if she’ll travel here, or travel to L.A. But she’s welcome here, obviously.”
Faber admits that he’d have VanZant training full-time at Team Alpha Male if it was up to him, but he is also well aware of the 22-year-old’s rising star power and the endless opportunities outside of fighting that have come with it:
“I’m not sure if she’s planning on doing that here or not,” Faber said. “We spoke briefly about it. I told her she’s always welcome. That’s a better question for her.
“She hasn’t officially said, ‘I’m never coming back.’ If it were up to me, I’d have her training in here all year ’round and having guys watch over her. But she’s got a unique setup, being a girl that’s from Oregon, living in Reno (Nev.), coming to Sacramento, being in the limelight so much.”
After losing two of her last three bouts, do you think a change of scenery is the right move for the young VanZant?
