Paige VanZant was taken aback by Dana White’s recent comments.
The UFC president spoke highly of VanZant after her dominant decision victory over veteran Felice Herrig in her last trip to the Octagon.
White implied that her drawing power might see fans wanting her to be fast-tracked through the ranks of the newly established women’s strawweight division, but her lack of Octagon experience means that is unlikely to happen. He compared her explosive rise to that of a certain Irish fighter.
“It’s almost like the Conor McGregor thing. The guy bursts out of nowhere, explodes onto the scene and backs it up. And Paige VanZant did tonight, too. She looked unbelievable. And she is. She’s one of those people that has that thing.”
“She’s got that thing that I always talk about — that thing you can’t teach. Everybody in my dressing room tonight wanted to meet her. They were like, ‘We want to meet Paige VanZant.’ She’s got that thing man. And she can fight.”
VanZant admitted she enjoyed being compared to the featherweight contender because of her popularity.
“I think Conor is awesome and to have Dana compare me to him is a huge honor.”
She also responded to a recent comment from fellow UFC strawweight Tecia Torres. The Tiny Tornado insinuated that the star was getting preferential treatment from “Daddy Dana”, which wasn’t warranted because she is a relative newcomer to the sport.
“It’s good. It’s harsh. It’s the fight business. It creates drama in the sport and ever since she said those things I’ve gotten thousands of followers. I love what I’m doing. I don’t need negative comments. I have a lot more to prove still.”
If she already has competitors trash-talking her, then she might be like McGregor more than she might have initially thought.
Hat-tip to BJ Penn
