More: Gallery - Ronda Rousey
The 21-year-old straw-weight is still a relative novice with a 5-1 MMA record, but she’s already being groomed as the UFC’s next best thing.
Last year she became the youngest ever female UFC fighter when she upset Kailin Curran, and she carried on her winning ways with a decision victory over Felice Herrig this April.
She’s a superstar now, but like her hero Ronda Rousey, VanZant didn’t always have it so good.
“I ran out of gas more times than I can count and I’ve had multiple people push my car to the gas station,” she told BJPENN.com .
“I was working two jobs, going to school and training at the same time so I was really struggling for a long time.
“The fact that people want my autograph is still kind of weird to me, but I’m getting used to it and I like the attention I’m getting so far.
“Actually having money in my bank account is amazing.”
Still ranked eighth in the straw-weight division, VanZant remains a fair way off fighting for a title, but she has the crucial support of UFC President Dana White.
“She's got that thing that I always talk about, that thing you can't teach," White said.
"Everybody wanted to meet her. They were like, 'We want to meet Paige VanZant.' She's got that thing man. And she can fight."
She’s a massive hit with the fans as well, with 182,000 followers on Instagram and 172,000 likes on Facebook.
Unfortunately for some, VanZant has already ruled out a bout with Rousey, saying they’re in different weight classes and would never meet in the cage.
VanZant reportedly wants to fight in September at UFC 191 but an opponent has yet to be named.
She’s not shy either, saying that she fights better when it’s that time of the month…
“It (PMS) fuels the fire.
“You wanna go in there angry and aggressive so you’ve got a killer instinct already.”
A former dance instructor and model, VanZant got her nickname "12 gauge" from her love of hunting and was a ring card girl when she was too young to fight.
