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A UFC Hall of Famer recently discussed Paige VanZant's MMA career as a whole and explained why she may have begun her career too soon. She made her MMA debut in 2012 and went on to compete in the UFC until 2020.
'12 Gauge' was 18 years old when she made her MMA debut with only one amateur bout on her resume. VanZant quickly became one of the most highly touted UFC prospects and surged in popularity after joining the promotion in 2014. But, she eventually had her fair share of struggles in the octagon once her level of competition increased.
While speaking to VladTV, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock shared his thoughts on his former pupil making the decision to join Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male in pursuit of an MMA career. Shamrock mentioned that he would have preferred VanZant take her time rather than quickly jumping into the top promotion in the sport. He said:
"If you look at how her career has gone, I think she was forced in it too soon. I think she could have had a much more successful career fighting if she would have held back a year or two and allowed me to build those fights into her, where it gave her that gradual success [so] she could deal with those kinds of girls at that next level." [1:54 - 2:13]
Check out Ken Shamrock's comments regarding Paige VanZant below:
What was Paige VanZant's record in the UFC?
Paige VanZant had a fairly successful MMA career as she gained a large following as well as opportunities outside of the sport. But, she didn't have much experience when she joined the UFC in 2014.
At the time, '12 Gauge' had a professional record of 3-1 and 1-0 as an amateur, with her most high profile fight being a unanimous decision loss to Tecia Torres at Invicta FC 4. VanZant competed in the UFC from 2014-2020 and went 5-4 inside the octagon.
VanZant's final bout took place at UFC 251, where she was submitted by Amanda Ribas.
Check out Paige VanZant's knockout win over Bec Rawlings below:
