Will Paige VanZant’s bout mark the end of an era?
Remember the “Sage and Paige Show?” That was the unofficial nickname for the Dec. 10, 2015 event in Las Vegas which featured two untested fighters thought to be destined for superstardom based as much on perceived marketability as for fighting skills, themselves.
[autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] and Sage Northcutt were featured on that event. Since then? Well, Northcutt, now 24, is currently in ONE Championship. PVZ, meanwhile, lost to Namajunas in that evening’s main event.
That kicked off a stretch in which she’s gone 2-3 over a span of nearly five years, and she’s coming up on the final fight of her UFC contract. The 26-year-old VanZant (8-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) has proven herself plenty tough, win or lose, against top-level competition, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise she’s taking on another tough out in up-and-coming star Amanda Ribas (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) .
That market is far removed from where it was for untested fighters with upside five years ago, and unless PVZ puts on a spectacular show, this fight could mark the final chapter of an era in which the company got a little too excited about a pair of potential stars and pushed them a little too fast.
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