Say what you will about Paige VanZant but you can never accuse the UFC strawweight of lacking heart.
The complete absence of quit in the 22-year-old became abundantly clear last December when, bloodied and battered, she refused to look for a way out in spite of the beating she had just taken for the best part of 25 minutes against Rose Namajunas before a rear naked choke gave her no option but to concede defeat.
VanZant found herself in an identical position on Saturday night, when she headlined the UFC Sacramento card opposite the returning Michelle Waterson.
And this time, “12 Gauge” showed an even more stubborn resolve as she refused to tap despite Waterson’s fully sunk-in choke.
Flawless!👏@karatehottiemma announces herself on the @ufc stage with victory over @PaigeVanzantUFC. #UFCSacramento https://t.co/7gEsbT601F
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 18, 2016
VanZant admirably defended, as she looked to pull away at Waterson’s right arm with both hands.
But the left forearm was already under the chin and squeezing mercilessly.
Waterson, competing for the first time in 18 months, looked a class above the young Team Alpha Male product, and didn’t need the tap to get the victory.
She was quite happy to put VanZant, who was lucky to have a referee as experienced as John McCarthy watching on, to sleep.
Big John stepped in and pulled the submission apart, only for VanZant to wake up and ask what had happened.
And as for Waterson, well she stretched her record to 14-4 and will be hoping that her recent history of injuries has finally come to an end so that she can start working on her candidacy for a title shot at champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
