PVZ: I’m meant for the spotlight, I’ll be back

Paige VanZant is mediagenic, which earned her opportunities that would not be available if she looked like this:

She headlined a UFC event in just her eighth fight, and was beaten so badly she said she cleaned blood out of her ears for three weeks. But she showed gameness, and actually added fans.

I thought I embarrassed myself out there and I put on an embarrassing performance,” she said at the time. “But then afterward I had all these positive articles.”

PVZ bounced back with a win, and Saturday night was headlining one of the biggest television shows of the year. She lost again, but this time, rather than valiant, she looked like a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu in a main event fight. It’s not a great look.

At the post-fight press conference, her confidence remained unbroken.

“I was meant for the spotlight, and I’m going to continue to be in the spotlight,” she said, as transcribed by MMAjunkie. “I will be back, and I’m going to have the belt one day. I’m 22 years old. I have a long time, so I have the best team in the world. I’ll be back.”

“Michelle Waterson’s a really good fighter. She used to be the atomweight champion for Invicta FC, so I know she’s going to go very, very far in this sport. I knew it was going to be a big test for me. Gotta work on my jiu-jitsu, apparently, so I’m going to do that.”

“I got caught tonight. It happens. I’m not blaming any other outside factors, no matter what went on. I got caught, and it happens in this sport.”

“Before I fought Bec, I was supposed to be in a movie, and I turned it down because it was going to mess up my fight game,” she said. “This just came down to not preparing my jiu-jitsu, and that’s it.”