‘Dancing’ star Paige VanZant continues to prove she’s a real fighter

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The first time Paige VanZant walked into a Team Alpha Male practice four years ago, there was obvious skepticism about the petite blond teenager’s desire to be a top-level fighter.

It wasn’t a new experience for VanZant, who had fought on two professional cards in Texas shortly after her 18th birthday but wanted to take her training to a higher level.

“I had gone to a few other gyms, and I was just looked past and pushed aside,” she said. “They would put me in kids’ classes. I was 18 years old and already a professional, but I wasn’t really taken seriously. The moment I walked into Urijah Faber’s gym, he was, like, ‘You’re a pro. I’m going to turn you into something special.’

“It took me three or four months to really prove myself, but they accepted me.”

VanZant has been training at Faber’s gym in her adopted hometown of Sacramento ever since, and now she will headline a card at the city’s sparkling new downtown arena Saturday when she fights Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC on Fox 22 at Golden 1 Center.

Faber, who will meet Brad Pickett on the card in what he insists will be his final fight, concedes he was skeptical when VanZant entered the gym.

“I remember sitting down with her and trying to get to the bottom of why she wanted to do this,” he said. “I was asking her, ‘(Are you using this) to get into acting?’ I was trying to get a gauge on her, and she just looked at me and said, ‘I want to be a world champion.’”

Faber was convinced enough to let her stick around for practice. On that first day, she was drilling with a 14-year-old kickboxer Faber dubbed a “stud” for his age, and the action got heated.

“Those two went at it like a war,” Faber said. “She pissed him off, and he pissed her off, and it was just on. The next thing I know I look over and she was just dropping knees on his head, and I had to break it up.

“I knew she wasn’t here to play. This girl has that fighting spirit.”

VanZant laughed when she heard that Faber had recounted the story.

“Of course he would tell that story, but (the 14-year-old) was the same size as me!” she made sure to clarify. “I just wanted to prove myself. We went at it. I gave him a bloody nose, but Urijah kept me around after that, so he must have seen something in me.”

Now 22 and four years into her career, VanZant still is trying to prove herself despite a 4-1 UFC record. There are critics who say her career has been aided by her looks, and she is asked in most interviews when she will give up fighting to pursue a career in Hollywood.

Even Waterson admired VanZant’s skills in finishing second on “Dancing With The Stars,” while saying she was still “very green” as a fighter.

But Waterson, a flashy striker known as “The Karate Hottie,” took umbrage Thursday to a question about whether VanZant was a legitimate fighter.

“She’s definitely a real fighter,” Waterson said. “She wouldn’t be fighting for the UFC if she wasn’t, and she just had a great knockout victory (over Bec Rawlings in August). So what if she’s pretty or she was on ‘Dancing with the Stars?’ She’s a fighter, and you have to take her seriously.

“As far as me calling her green, it was me just being honest and expressing how I feel. I have lots more experience than she does, but it doesn’t mean I’m taking her lightly. It’s the hardest I’ve ever trained for anyone.”

VanZant’s brand has exploded in the past year through her appearance on the reality show and in several commercial campaigns. She’s not ruling anything out regarding her future, but insists her goals are the same as when she first walked into that gym just down the street from where she will fight Saturday.

She believes she is getting better every day and looks forward to proving herself yet again in another network TV appearance.

“I think my biggest strength as a fighter is I’m constantly evolving,” she said. “It’s been said multiple times, but it’s true. People haven’t seen the best of me yet. I’m very excited for this matchup, especially coming off a win. It’s a big step for me, but it’s the right step and I get to do it right here in Sacramento.

“I’m just going to go out and get another win, and that’s as far as I look.”

The main card will air at 5 p.m. on Fox, with the preliminary card at 3 on Fox Sports 1.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.