Paige VanZant refuses to make any excuses for loss to Michelle Waterson
Paige VanZant definitely didn't get the result she wanted in her fight with Michelle Waterson after she was choked out in the first round in the main event from Sacramento on Saturday night.
It was VanZant's second loss in her past three fights — all of which were sandwiched around a stint on "Dancing with the Stars" where she took off several months to participate in the reality show competition.
Following the defeat on Saturday, VanZant insisted that her shortcomings against Waterson had nothing to do with outside distractions or pursuits away from the UFC. It came down to VanZant needing to work on her grappling skills and nothing more.
"Obviously I took a break from "Dancing with the Stars" and I came back and I knocked somebody out. So I'm very good at balancing my outside factors," VanZant explained at the post fight press conference. "I have the best team in the world. I'm very smart. I could have done anything I wanted to and I chose to fight and I'm going to continue to balance my schedule. People get caught, I'm not going to overthink it. I'm going to work on my jiu-jitsu and that's it.
"I got caught tonight, it happens. I'm not blaming any other outside factors no matter what went on. Got caught. It happens in this sport. It's a fight. Absolutely anything can happen whether I had the best camp in the world or whether I had circumstances that put me back. It doesn't matter."
VanZant has expressed an interest in several careers outside of the Octagon including acting and modeling, neither of which come attached with the same emotional and physical pain felt from her loss to Waterson.
Still, VanZant insists that her future lies with the UFC and this is just a bump in the road before she comes back a better fighter.
"I feel my opportunities are endless. I'm definitely going to be fighting for the UFC for a long time," VanZant said. "I'm very young, no injuries, so I'm going to get back into it but of course if other things come up, I'm going to pursue those as well. I have a lot of passions in the world and I'm not going to limit myself to just one thing."
On Saturday night, VanZant can't blame anything or anyone other than what she did wrong that ended up with Waterson getting the rear naked choke finish.
"I didn't practice my jiu-jitsu," VanZant said. "That's pretty much it. I've got to get back in the gym and get better jits."
