Never let it be said that the fight game has consumed Paige VanZant.
The strawweight had been lined up for the undercard of UFC 200, on July 9, but her success in TV show Dancing with the Stars has postponed her return to the octagon.
VanZant’s hype train was derailed by Rose Namajunas, last December, when she tapped out after a gruelling contest.
The 22-year-old then signed up for the latest season of DWTS – America’s version of Strictly Come Dancing – and has been a runaway success. On the most recent episode of the show, on Monday, VanZant claimed a perfect score after another impressive routine.
WATCH: Paige VanZant's MMA-inspired routine on Dancing With The Stars was pretty damn awesome https://t.co/5BsOpPE2dt
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) April 5, 2016
Her team are now preparing for the possibility that she might go all the way and win the show. VanZant’s manager, Mark Roberts told MMA Fighting:
“After thinking about it, the show is taking up a lot of her time.
“She wants to have time to improve and get better, so we decided to postpone her return to about late-August.”
With McGregor-Diaz II already ruled off the UFC 200 card and Ronda Rousey not due back until later this year, the promotion will be less than pleased that one of its most marketable names will not be fighting.
It is a strange reason to miss out on the biggest UFC event in years but VanZant may have noted what excessive media commitments have done to Conor McGregor and Rousey.
VanZant will hope to get on either the UFC 201 or 202 cards this summer.
