Paige Michelle VanZant (née Sletten; married name Vanderford;[13] born March 26, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist, bare knuckle boxer, professional wrestler, professional boxer, slap fighter, author, model, and OnlyFans content creator.

[16] She was considered a tomboy while growing up and loved the outdoors; her hobbies included riding dirt bikes and fishing.

[18][19] After VanZant moved with her family to Sparks, Nevada, she was looking for a dance studio when she came across UFC veteran Ken Shamrock's gym, where she began training in boxing and other martial arts.

[22] In December 2013, VanZant was announced as one of 11 women signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for its newly created Strawweight division.

It was also announced that she would compete as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter, a television reality series, as part of a tournament to crown the inaugural strawweight champion.

[23] However, on March 31, 2014, VanZant was turned away from the reality series because she was only 20 years old, and the minimum age to compete on it is 21 due to the presence of alcohol in the house.

[37] Following her time on Dancing with the Stars, VanZant returned to the cage to face Bec Rawlings on August 27, 2016, at UFC on Fox: Maia vs.

[38][39] She won the fight via KO in the second round after landing a flying head kick and a flurry of follow-up punches.

[48] VanZant's debut in the flyweight division eventually took place in 2018 as she faced Jessica Rose-Clark on January 14, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs.

[50] After a year hiatus from competition due to a broken arm, VanZant faced Rachael Ostovich on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs.

[55] Initially, VanZant was told that she wouldn't require surgery on her arm and was targeting a return to the octagon in July.

VanZant requested to reschedule the bout one month later but Ribas decided to remain at the event and Randa Markos stepped in as the replacement.

[61][7] VanZant made her debut for the promotion on February 5, 2021, against Britain Hart in the main event of BKFC: Knucklemania in Tampa, Florida.

[62] VanZant faced Rachael Ostovich – whom she defeated in mixed martial arts at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw – at BKFC 19 on July 23, 2021.

[67] On April 19, 2024, it was announced that VanZant would make her professional boxing debut with Misfits Boxing on May 25 at the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas, against English OnlyFans model Elle Brooke as the headline bout for MF & DAZN: X Series 15 for the MFB women's middleweight championship.

[31] The first fighter to defeat VanZant, Tecia Torres, largely avoided her clinch while attacking with strikes near the center of the cage.

[85] VanZant appeared alongside her husband Austin Vanderford in the audience on the March 9 episode of Dynamite.

During the main event, she attacked Tay Conti at ringside, distracting Sammy Guevara and assisting Scorpio Sky to win the TNT Championship.

[87] On the May 27 episode of Rampage, it was announced that VanZant would make her in-ring debut at Double or Nothing, teaming with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky to face Conti, Guevara, and Frankie Kazarian.

[89] After two years of inactivity, VanZant's profile was removed from the AEW website roster page on June 3, 2024, signifying her official departure from the company.

[91] The couple reached the finals of the show and finished in second place behind model Nyle DiMarco and his partner Peta Murgatroyd.

[92] 1 For this week, VanZant performed with troupe member Alan Bersten due to Ballas suffering a back injury during rehearsals.2 Score given by guest judge Zendaya.3 For this week only, as part of "America's Switch Up", VanZant performed with Sasha Farber instead of Ballas.

[93] She was featured in the "Star Power: Culinary Muscle" episode, alongside former NFL player LaMarr Woodley, female Olympic gold medalist fencer Mariel Zagunis, and former Olympic gold medalist figure skater Dorothy Hamill.

"[98] In September 2018, VanZant married Austin Vanderford, a professional MMA fighter and a two-time NAIA All-American and national champion wrestler.

[102] In September 2023, VanZant claimed in an interview with Barstool sports that she had earned more money in a 24 hour period with OnlyFans than she had in her entire fight career.