What does it take to train like a top mixed martial arts athlete? For mixed martial artist Paige VanZant, one of the rising stars of Ultimate Fighting Championship, fitness makes all the difference. Known for her aggressive fighting style, VanZant spends her days engaged in intense training and her regimen is anything but typical. We delve into the rigorous training regimen and multifaceted career of Paige VanZant, exploring her journey from the UFC to her ventures in boxing, wrestling, and beyond.
Early Life and Transition to MMA
Paige Michelle VanZant (née Sletten; married name Vanderford; born March 26, 1994) was raised in Sherwood, Oregon, near Portland. Her parents owned a dance studio, and she was brought up dancing ballet, jazz, and hip hop for over 13 years. After VanZant moved with her family to Sparks, Nevada, she was looking for a dance studio when she came across UFC veteran Ken Shamrock's gym, where she began training in boxing and other martial arts.
Early Career
After winning an amateur fight at age 18, VanZant made her professional MMA debut on June 30, 2012, at UWF's Tournament of Warriors finale against Jordan Nicole Gaza in Corpus Christi, Texas, winning by split decision. In December 2013, VanZant was announced as one of 11 women signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for its newly created Strawweight division.
UFC Career
In August 2014, the UFC announced that VanZant would face Kailin Curran on October 4, 2014, in Halifax at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine, but VanZant suffered a back injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. After defeating Kailin Curran, VanZant enjoyed an increase in popularity. In February 2015, she was signed to a sponsorship deal with Reebok. This became a source of controversy due to her having only one UFC fight at the time.
VanZant faced Felice Herrig on April 18, 2015, in Newark, New Jersey, at UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Following her time on Dancing with the Stars, VanZant returned to the cage to face Bec Rawlings on August 27, 2016, at UFC on Fox: Maia vs. She ended her run in the strawweight division ranked No.
Injuries and Hiatus
After a year hiatus from competition due to a broken arm, VanZant faced Rachael Ostovich on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Initially, VanZant was told that she wouldn't require surgery on her arm and was targeting a return to the octagon in July. However, in early June, she told ESPN that the bone in her arm had not healed and that she would have to undergo surgery. VanZant was scheduled to face Amanda Ribas on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170. However, VanZant was forced to pull out of the fight due to fracturing her right arm again (third such time for VanZant). She stated the injury was small and only needed 6-8 weeks to heal.
Training Regimen
For UFC fighter Paige VanZant, a regular daily session with Team Alpha Male cohorts at her gym in Sacramento, CA, lasts at least two hours. Each workout is a mix of dynamic warmups, plyometrics, several rounds of shadowboxing and kickboxing, and technique work, strength moves, and stretching. “Every day is different it depends on what day of the week it is,” says VanZant, fresh off her knockout win against Bec Rawlings. “We have lots of classes, wrestling, jujitsu. I do a lot of Pilates, yoga, CrossFit as well. I also try to include one relaxing workout through the week like hiking.”
Keeping her workouts stimulating also means utilizing skills garnered from her first love: dance. She studied hip-hop, jazz, and ballet in her parents’ studio for years before her MMA career, and even when she isn’t getting a perfect score on Dancing With the Stars, which she competed in earlier this year, the added knowledge is beneficial. “I was able to pick up techniques very quickly, and it makes you very disciplined,” VanZant says. “It also helps with balance, coordination, and flexibility.”
Once it’s time to get into the ring, though, VanZant’s routine changes accordingly. “When I gear up for a fight I try to cut out a lot of the fun outdoorsy workouts and do a lot more training in the gym,” she says. “I do more cardio, and I run a lot if I can. I do a lot more sparring and more combat throughout the week.” And while she admits that all that practice can get to feel monotonous, “living this lifestyle, you have to make a lot of sacrifices,” she says. “People don’t always realize what we put our bodies through, so getting a win after all that is done is an unreal experience.”
For the average person, however, there are still plenty of takeaways to be gleaned from VanZant’s vigorous routine, which she shares glimpses of on Instagram. She suggests balancing an art form like jujitsu with relaxing pastimes like yoga or Pilates and the occasional indulgence (cookie butter remains a favorite treat), and believes that even the small changes count for something. “Just taking a cardio kickboxing class [can be helpful]. You can go into a gym and it’s all cardio-based and you get to learn a little bit of self-defense as well,” VanZant says.
Favorite Drills and Fighting Moves
VanZant shared her favorite drills and fighting moves that keep her in top shape. Incorporate elements of them into your existing program, or do the full UFC-inspired routine to help you gain stamina, speed, power, and conditioning in one total-body workout you’ll love.
- Jump Rope: Bend knees into a quarter-squat. Keep your feet together as you jump, pushing off the balls of your feet and bending knees slightly while flexing ankles; land lightly on the balls of your feet.
- Bring both hands together and swing the rope down on your left side while jumping. Next, keeping hands together, swing rope down on right side while jumping.
- Separate hands and jump through the rope. From basic jump, cross your forearms together in front of your hips, making sure hands come outside opposite elbow and keeping rope close to body.
- Punching Sequence: Do these punches as a sequence, moving through them quickly for 2-5 minutes.
- Begin in fighter’s stance, left foot forward and right foot back. Keep both hands protecting face with elbows pointing down, knees slightly bent.
- Extend left arm, quickly punching forward with left hand. Rotate hips slightly to generate power.
- Repeat jab, this time punching forward with right arm while keeping left hand near head.
- Punch with left arm in an arc to the right, bending elbow 90 degrees. Rotate hips and pivot off left foot as you punch. Keep right hand near face.
- From fighter’s stance, bend both knees slightly and explode up, punching up with your right hand as if aiming under your opponent’s chin; pivot slightly off right leg to help drive the punch.
- High Kick: Sharply lift right leg, kicking high with right foot as you shift body weight to left, pivoting off left foot.
- Knee Strike: Bending both knees slightly, spring explosively forward, pushing powerfully off left leg while driving right knee into bag. Begin in fighter stance a few feet from heavy bag, left foot forward and right foot back.
- Roundhouse Kick: Lift right knee, then jump up and kick low with right leg, hitting bag with the inside of your right foot. Land on right foot as you explosively kick high in a roundhouse kick with your left leg, hitting bag with the top of your left foot; hands switch so right hand comes up to protect face (right).
- Handstand Push-Ups: Place hands on floor and kick feet up into a handstand position, making body as long and tall as possible, squeezing glutes (left). Lift one hand off the floor, then the opposite hand (right), rocking your body side to side. Keeping elbows close to sides, lower chest toward floor (left). Push through hands to extend back to starting position (right).
- Heavy Bag Sit-Ups: Position yourself with your legs wrapped around heavy bag, holding bag for support. Use strength of core to power back to sitting position, keeping hands behind head. To modify, you can also do the situp on the floor, keeping feet anchored under rack or similar object.
Here's a summary table of Paige VanZant's favorite drills and fighting moves:
| Drill/Move | Description |
|---|---|
| Jump Rope | Dynamic jumps with variations to improve agility and coordination. |
| Punching Sequence | Quick punches in a sequence to enhance speed and power. |
| High Kick | Sharp, high kicks to shift body weight and improve flexibility. |
| Knee Strike | Explosive knee strikes to build power and technique. |
| Roundhouse Kick | Combination of low and high kicks for agility and striking. |
| Handstand Push-Ups | Handstand push-ups to build upper body strength and core stability. |
| Heavy Bag Sit-Ups | Sit-ups using a heavy bag for core strength and stability. |
VanZant used this move to finish off Bec “Rowdy” Rawlings in a fight in August. “Basically, you just fake a low kick and then you throw your high kick up on the other side. I knew that kick was going to land.
Transition to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship
VanZant made her debut for the promotion on February 5, 2021, against Britain Hart in the main event of BKFC: Knucklemania in Tampa, Florida. VanZant faced Rachael Ostovich - whom she defeated in mixed martial arts at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. VanZant was scheduled to face Charisa Sigala at BKFC 27 on August 20, 2022.
All Elite Wrestling
On the February 2, 2022, episode of Dynamite, American Top Team's Dan Lambert introduced VanZant to Brandi Rhodes, with VanZant later attacking Rhodes at his behest. The angle between VanZant and Rhodes was dropped after Brandi and her husband Cody announced that they were leaving AEW. On March 4, AEW founder Tony Khan tweeted that VanZant would sign with the promotion. VanZant appeared alongside her husband Austin Vanderford in the audience on the March 9 episode of Dynamite.
Other Ventures
On March 8, 2016, VanZant was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on season 22 of Dancing with the Stars. On March 3, 2017, VanZant was announced as one of 16 celebrities taking part in a celebrity cooking competition on the Food Network TV series Chopped. She was featured in the "Star Power: Culinary Muscle" episode, alongside former NFL player LaMarr Woodley, female Olympic gold medalist fencer Mariel Zagunis, and former Olympic gold medalist figure skater Dorothy Hamill.
VanZant released her biography, Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life on April 10, 2018. In May 2018, VanZant confirmed that she had a breast augmentation, saying: "I'm a girl and always wanted my own boobs.
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VanZant is available for personal requests, which she recently revealed can be a little bit weird. VanZant shared a video to her Instagram page, with the caption: “He literally paid $25 for this.
Fighting Style
VanZant typically attacks with aggressive grappling, then seeks to finish the fight with strikes. Her style includes ground-and-pound, dirty boxing, and a wide variety of clinch striking. VanZant is noted for the constant pressure she applies while grappling. If an opponent escapes her clinch, she will usually look to close the distance again within moments.
VanZant is primed to get back to winning. "Nothing else makes sense for me," she says. "I don't want to do anything else with my life-I have other goals and aspirations along this journey but I want to get them because of fighting."