One of the UFC’s fastest rising female stars, “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant, makes her return to the Octagon on September 5th at UFC 191 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The popular 21-year-old is expected to face off against Australia’s Alex Chambers in a featured strawweight bout on the card.
Fox Sports first confirmed the targeted date for the fight following a report from MMASucka.com. VanZant is coming off of a one-sided domination of Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig at UFC on FOX 15 in April. Chambers rallied back from the brink of defeat and submitted Kailin Curran at UFC Fight Night 65.
VanZant (5-1-0) has rapidly become a top star for the UFC in spite of her young age and limited fighting experience. After suffering her lone defeat in a lopsided bout against Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres at Invicta FC 4, VanZant bounced back with a quick win in regional competition and later signed with the UFC. Her age prevented her from taking part in The Ultimate Fighter 20, but VanZant has since proven that she did not need the show in order to establish herself as a prospect to watch on the UFC’s roster.
In her promotional debut in November, VanZant stopped the aforementioned Kailin Curran in round three of a thrilling bout at UFC Fight Night 57. She most recently put on the most impressive performance of her career thus far when she easily defeated Herrig on April 18th. VanZant remains a few wins away from title contention, but a victory over Chambers would further elevate the Reebok-sponsored VanZant as she looks to continue to climb the rankings.
Chambers (5-2-0) kicked off her pro career by winning three of her first four fights as a strawweight, with the lone setback coming against current Deep Jewels champ Mizuki Inoue. She briefly dropped down to atomweight for an Invicta FC win over Jodie Esquibel before returning to 115 pounds for TUF 20 this past year. Chambers’s run on the show ended early, and she was defeated by Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly in her official UFC debut at the TUF 20 Finale, but she survived a mauling at the hands of Curran this past month and ultimately submitted the Hawaiian with a come-from-behind third-round armbar.
UFC 191 takes place on September 5th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
Should be an easy win for PVZ. I thought they might match her up with Albu.
No doubt this is a “gimme” fight for PVZ – Chambers was fortunate to catch Curran in the 3rd. So basically PVZ needs to beat someone who almost lost to someone PVZ already beat. I can’t blame the UFC though as PVZ is viewed as one of the top rising stars, and they want to position her in the best way possible. I must say, PVZ is already quite good and at 21 years old, she is going to get much better.
I hope Kaitlin Curran gets another opportunity soon. She’s 0-2 in the UFC, but I think she has enormous potential. Lauren Murphy is another who’s 0-2 in the UFC but is very good and I think will get some big wins soon. It seems like there’s always a 2 fight “adjustment” period for fighters coming in from other organizations needed before they can adapt to the talent level of the UFC. Eddie Alvarez is another example — his first two UFC fights were shaky, but I’m thinking he will soon show his best fighting form.