UFC star Paige VanZant was hoping to make her debut in the newly formed flyweight division at UFC 216 against Jessica Eye, but an injury looks to have forced her to withdraw from the fight. The UFC has not officially removed the fight from the card but is expected to do so in the coming days.
VanZant spoke earlier on “The MMA Hour” about the move to 125lbs explaining that the weight cut to strawweight was too difficult for her to make and that doctors almost didn’t clear her last time.
“It’s a big cut for me. I’m a lot heavier than people realize,” she said “I was honestly killing myself for this sport. In my last I want to say two fights or three fights, I’ve passed out in my bathroom. This last one, I passed out and had the doctors almost not cleared me for the fight. “I’m a big advocate for body positivity, and I was putting myself through an eating disorder to make weight,” she continued. “And it became not fun for me anymore. I hate cutting. I hated the process. Obviously, passing out on your bathroom floor is not fun, because you’re dying in a bathtub.”
MMAfighting.com’s Ariel Helwani has the full report.
“Next week’s UFC 216 is expected to lose one of its pay-per-view fights.
The Paige VanZant vs. Jessica Eye flyweight fight is off due to an injury suffered by PVZ, MMA Fighting has learned. The promotion hasn’t officially announced the news but should do so in the coming days.
According go sources, VanZant suffered an intervertebral disc injury training jiu-jitsu and was advised by her doctor to avoid training for a few weeks. VanZant won’t need to undergo surgery.
VanZant hasn’t fought since her December loss to Michelle Waterson, while Eye’s last fight was in Sept. 2016. Eye was scheduled to fight at UFC 213 in July, however, the fight was scrapped on fight day after Aspen Ladd, her opponent, fell ill.
UFC 216, which is set for Oct. 7 in Las Vegas, will now proceed with 12 fights.
Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report”
