UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs Swanson Prelim Breakout Star: Paige VanZant

The Prelim Breakout Star is a once per event article that helps fans get to know those who will be entertaining them from the undercard. The intention of the article is not to bring attention to the most talented guy on the preliminary card, but rather one that the common fan may have overlooked or underestimated.

Three events in a row, Prelim Breakout Star has highlighted some of the top youngsters in MMA. With the average age of the last three being 23 years old, there’s plenty of room for growth in those picks (Jake Matthews, Thomas Almeida and Moggly Benitez). However, all of them picked up impressive wins in their fights. So, we decided, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Here’s another young gun that is looking to make a name early.

Paige VanZant

Nickname- 12 Gauge
Affiliation – Team Alpha Male
From – Sparks, Nevada
Height – 5’4”
Weight – 115 lbs (Strawweight)
Record – 3-1 (0-0 UFC)

What makes her impressive

While she may only have four professional fights to her name, VanZant has plenty of experience. In January 2013 she faced off with Ultimate Fighter quarterfinalist (possibly more), Tecia Torres. Torres produced the only blemish on VanZant’s record, but allowed her to show off one of her most impressive attributes; her toughness. Torres hit her with some violent shots and VanZant just kept moving forward. Even more impressive, those shots didn’t seem to take any of her power away. In the middle of the third round she executed a stop hip toss, her second of the fight, and sent Torres flying to the mat. It may have been too little, too late on the judges’ cards, but it certainly opened some eyes.

Why she has been overlooked

When the UFC bought a out nearly a dozen Invicta contracts for The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Is Crowned”, VanZant was one of the chosen few. Before she was able to head out to the TUF house, however, they caught a little snag in the paperwork. VanZant is not yet 21 years old. Therefore, by their own policies, they could not let her compete. As a consolation, they offered her a UFC contract anyways and she looks to make use of the opportunity before those who got to be on the show even get their chance. An impressive win here could get her further up the ranks than some on the show even.

What makes this a good matchup

Kailin Curran has a pretty well-rounded game. Her punches are pretty sharp and her submission game is solid. She does seem to slow down as the match goes on. In her match last year with Kaiyana Rain, her third round punches seemed to have little behind them. With VanZant getting seemingly stronger as the rounds progress, Curran can’t slow down. If she does, she’ll wind up on her back more than a couple times.

Preview Prelim Breakout Stars

1. Francisco Trinaldo – UFC on FX: Belfort vs Bisping (W)

2. Simeon Thoresen – UFC on Fox: Johnson vs Dodson (L)

3. Tyron Woodley – UFC 156 (W)

4. Vaughan Lee – UFC on Fuel: Barao vs McDonald (W)

5. Dennis Bermudez – UFC 157 (W)

6. Cristiano Marcello – UFC on Fuel: Stann vs Silva (L)

7. Daron Cruickshank – UFC 158 (L)

8. Ryan LaFlare – UFC on Fuel: Mousasi vs Latifi (W)

9. Bart Palaszewski – TUF Finale (L)

10. Yoel Romero – UFC on Fox: Henderson vs Melendez (W)

11. Rustam Khabilov – UFC 159 (W)

12. Fabio Maldonado – UFC on FX: Belfort vs Rockhold (W)

13. Khabib Nurmagomedov – UFC 160 (W)

14. Antonio Braga Neto – UFC on Fuel: Nogueira vs Werdum (W)

15. Roland Delorme – UFC 161 (W)

16. Seth Baczynski – UFC 162 (L)

17. Jorge Masvidal – UFC on Fox: Johnson vs Moraga (W)

18. Ednaldo Oliveira – UFC 163 (L)

19. Mike Brown – UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Sonnen (L)

20. Dylan Andrews – UFC Fight Night: Condit vs Kampmann (W)

21. Soa Palelei – UFC 164 (W)

22. Elias Silverio – UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs Bader (W)

23. John Makdessi – UFC 165 (W)

24. Alan Patrick – UFC Fight Night: Maia vs Shields (W)

25. Andre Fili – UFC 166 (W)

26. Jimy Hettes – UFC Fight Night: Machida vs Munoz (W)

27. Germaine de Randamie – UFC Fight for the Troops 3 (L)

28. Omari Akhmedov – UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs Henderson (W)

29. Sergio Pettis – UFC 167 (W)

30. Roxanne Modafferi – TUF Finale (L)

31. Takeya Mizugaki – UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs Bigfoot (W)

32. Alptekin Ozkilic – UFC on Fox: Johnson vs Benavidez (W)

33. Siyar Bahadurzada – UFC 168 (L)

34. Mairbek Taisumov – UFC Fight Night: Saffiedine vs Lim (W)

35. Charlie Brenneman – UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs Philippou (L)

36. Walt Harris – UFC on Fox: Henderson vs Thompson (L)

37. Clint Hester – UFC 169 (W)

38. Joe Proctor – UFC Fight Night: Machida vs Mousasi (W)

39. Aljamain Sterling – UFC 170 (W)

40. Zak Cummings – TUF China Finale (DNF)

41. Cyrille Diabate – UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs Manuwa (L)

42. Mats Nilsson – UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs Manuwa (L)

43. Alex Garcia – UFC 171 (W)

44. Hans Stringer – UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Henderson (W)

45. Jim Alers – UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs Nelson (W)

46. Ryan Jimmo – TUF Finale (W)

47. Caio Magalhaes – UFC on Fox: Werdum vs Browne (W)

48. Joe Ellenberger – UFC 172 (DNF)

49. Kyoji Horiguchi – UFC Fight Night: Brown vs Silva (W)

50. Francisco Trinaldo – UFC 173 (L)

51. Iuri Alcantara – UFC FIght Night: Mousasi vs Munoz (W)

52. Paulo Thiago – TUF Brazil Finale (L)

53. Jon Tuck – UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs Khabilov (W)

54. Mike Easton – UFC 174 (L)

55. Ian Entwistle – UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs Te Huna (L)

56. Ray Borg – UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs Stevens (W)

57. Rob Font – UFC 175 (W)

58. Derrick Lewis – TUF Finale (W)

59. Jessamyn Duke – UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs Miller (L)

   60.  Nikita Krylov – UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs Brandao (W)

   61.   Patrick Cummins – UFC on Fox: Lawler vs Brown (W)

   62.   Sam Alvey – UFC Fight Night: Bader vs Saint Preux (L)

   63.   Yuta Sasaki – UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs Le (W)

   64.   Ben Saunders – UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs dos Anjos (W)

   65.   Damon Jackson – UFC 177 (L)

   66.   Chas Skelly – UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs Mousasi (W)

   67.   Godofredo ‘Pepey’ Castro – UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs Arlovski (W)

   68.  Alex Caceres – UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs Nelson (L)

   69.  Cody Gibson – UFC 178 (L)

   70.  Marcin Bandel – UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs Story (L)

    71.  Jason Saggo -UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs Saffiedine (L)

    72.  Yan Cabral – UFC 179 (W)

    73.  Jake Mathews – UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs Bisping (W)

   74.   Thomas Almeida – UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Saint Preux (W)

   75.   Gabriel Benitez – UFC 180 (W)