5 Budding Female Stars In The UFC

1. Paige VanZant

Paige VanZant is one of the youngest fighters in the UFC. Just twenty years old (she'll be twenty-one in March), she was too young to appear on season 20 of the Ultimate Fighter, because the house in which the fighters stay tends to have a lot of booze, and America's drinking age is set at 21. However, she did earn herself a UFC contract anyway, and at UFC Fight Night 57, she made her debut - with massive success.

Not only did VanZant win, she won in a fantastic Fight of the Night bout against Cailin Curran, another young fighter with a lot of potential. VanZant showed great striking and an incredibly smart game on the ground. She imposed her will for most of two and a half rounds, and finished the job late in the fight, picking up a TKO victory. Winning $50,000 in your first UFC fight (in addition to your fight purse) is huge; doing it at age twenty is massive.

More importantly, VanZant has shown great maturity for her age. She's already commented that the money will be going towards a house. She has goals, a life plan, she's a likeable figure, and we'll admit, her background as a model doesn't hurt. The general rule is sex sells, and we've seen that with Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. Paige VanZant appeals to us as MMA fans because she's a likeable fighter with a big upside and a solid set of skills, but she'll appear to the masses because she's a hot girl who can kick !*$%. If she's comfy with that, we say go for it.

Just how big is her potential appeal? Websites are calling her "the most beautiful fighter in the world." The UFC's host network, FOX, has seen to it that she's getting a lot of coverage on FOX affiliate stations and websites. According to MMA Fighting, in web searches Monday, she was ranked third, behind only searches related to the racially charged situation in Ferguson, MO, at one point. By day's end, the only sport's related story more popular than VanZant was related to the Dallas Cowboys.

She needs to keep winning, of course - but she's off to a huge start. She's also a fighter we suggested the UFC push a little while ago, and really, the sky's the limit for her.