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UFC flyweight Paige VanZant
VanZant suffered a broken arm early in her UFC Fight Night 124 bout with Jessica-Rose Clark on Jan. 14. She finished the fight – her first at 125 pounds – but ended up on the losing end of a unanimous decision.
It was a nasty break to her forearm – VanZant tweeted the x-ray showing the break – that required surgery, which included inserting a plate and screws to hold the bone in place while it heals.
“I have a plate and seven screws in there. It’s still broken. Just waiting for it to heal and I have the plate in there holding it together,” VanZant said in an interview with TMZ Sports on Wednesday.
VanZant has continued training through her recovery, although she is obviously on a limited schedule.
“Three months until I’m back punching with my right hand,” VanZant said, but indicated that the limitation has forced her to focus on her left hand, and that, as an orthodox fighter, has helped her to refine and strengthen her jab.
VanZant is already anxious to get back in the Octagon, but relayed that she has remained in close contact with UFC officials, and gave a guaranteed timeline for her UFC return.
“Six months. I know I’ll have a fight in six months, and that’s guaranteed,” she said. “I’m working with the UFC. I’m keeping myself in amazing shape, so all it is is working on my right (to be ready to fight).
“I’m really excited to get back in there. I’m staying in good shape, and I’m going to be knocking people out now with my titanium arm,” she laughed.
Though she’s ranked nowhere near the top of the UFC flyweight division, VanZant doesn’t feel like she’s far out from a title shot.
Having only a single fight in the division, and that being a loss, typically would be grounds for declaring her claim unfounded, but the division hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet.
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
