10 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About Paige VanZant
6. She Won "Fight Of The Night" In Her UFC Debut
Though Dana White had once been resistant to the idea of women competing in UFC, the popularity of Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey made women's fighting just as mainstream as men's, and showed there was money to be made with even more of it. With that in mind, the Women's Strawweight Division was established.
There was a lot of anticipation leading up to VanZant's UFC debut against Kailin Curran. Not only was the story of her inability to compete on The Ultimate Fighter well known, as was her status as the youngest woman to ever compete in the UFC, but this bout would represent only the third match in the history of the company's Women's Strawweight Division.
Even though the bout had been briefly postponed due to an injury to VanZant, when it ended up taking place, it didn't disappoint. At UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson, on November 22, 2014, VanZant and Curran battled in a heated bout on the preliminary card. After an exciting fight that went into the third round, VanZant scored the TKO with a series of punches. Not only did that give her the victory, but it earned her $50,000 in the form of a "Fight of the Night" bonus.