10 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About Paige VanZant

After her win over Curran, VanZant's stock rose even higher. In February of 2015, she received a lucrative sponsorship deal with Reebok.

The deal granted VanZant a good bit of exposure, but it wasn't without its detractors. Many felt that the star had yet to prove herself worthy of such a sponsorship, given that the only other stars who had deals at the time were Anthony Pettis, Johny Hendricks, Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, and Conor McGregor - all champions or former champions, except for McGregor, who was number one contender and has since gone on to set records as a draw.

Among the most critical of VanZant's detractors was inaugural Women's Strawweight Champion Carla Esperanza, who told fans that she felt "overlooked by the UFC machine" in favor of the less-experienced star.

UFC President Dana White had VanZant's back, though, explaining that more than her record was taken into consideration when negotiating the deal, and that the fact that she has the "it" factor played a major role in her landing the sponsorship.