Paige VanZant is one of the most recognisable UFC fighters in the world, and a darling of reality TV.
The 26-year-old MMA star came second on the American version of Strictly Come Dancing and was first in a reality cooking show on US TV.
She has also become an online sensation with 2.4 million followers on Instagram.
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However her celebrity status has been earned the very hardest way.
In her autobiography Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life, she admitted that when she was just 14, she was raped by multiple male classmates after they got her drunk at a high-school party.
The horrific ordeal forced the fearless personality to change her name after years of persistent bullying.
But it didn’t stop Paige from ruling in the Octagon, and finishing runner-up on Dancing with the Stars, as well as winning US food show Chopped.
Her rise is even the more remarkable given the circ*mstances behind her reasons for turning to mixed martial arts.
HIGH-SCHOOL TROUBLES
VanZant enjoyed a very normal childhood, growing up in Dayton, Oregon.
Her parents owned a dance studio, and she was brought up dancing hip-hop, ballet, and jazz for over 13 years.
A natural flair for performing arts led to VanZant appearing in a commercial for mops, and she seem destined for stardom one way or another.
As a teen, she was admittedly a tomboy - with a love of dirt-biking and fishing.
But that all seemed a release for the persistent bullying she was getting at high school after a rumour circulated that she had sex with multiple boys at a house party.
Bullies mocked her surname, she was originally called Sletten, and cruelly nicknamed her ‘slu*tton’.
One time she came home to find condoms hanging from the trees around her house.
However, VanZant was hiding the truth - that she had been the victim of a gang rape.
In 2018, VanZant courageously opened up about the experience in her book, Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life.
Recalling the horrific incident, she wrote: “They move me around ... They change my position.
“I fail each time I try to resist, my limbs like wet cement on my body, my brain a heavy fog. I am awake and conscious, but my body feels dead.
“I know what is happening but can do nothing to stop it. I have no voice or choice but to submit and pray that it ends soon.”
VanZant never said if the perpetrators faced any legal charges, but the incident left her suicidal.
“I didn’t see any other way out,” she said in a US TV interview.
“When you’re in that position, when you’re feeling that much pain, it’s not that you want to die... you just don’t want to be in pain anymore.
“I didn’t have anywhere to run to, I didn’t have anybody to turn to.”
LEGAL NAME CHANGE
Haunted by her past, Sletten became VanZant when she legally changed her name and took on a different identity.
And when her family moved to Nevada, she found a new hobby that was to change her life forever.
Aged 15 she walked into UFC veteran Ken Shamrock’s gym The Lion’s Den, after looking for dance studios in the area, and began to train in boxing and mixed martial arts.
Primarily VanZant wanted to be able to defend herself.
She picked it up with ease, already having nimble feet from her years training as a dancer.
Just a year after making her MMA debut at UWF’s Tournament of Warriors finale, VanZant was one of 11 female fighters signed by the UFC for their new strawweight division in 2013.
By 2015, she had become one of the faces of Reebok.
It caused jealousy among her rivals who thought she was only chosen to represent the brand because of her good looks.
UFC boss Dana White nailed it when he said, she had the “it” factor and personality deserving of the sponsorship.
REALITY TV DARLING
Like Ronda Rousey used the UFC as a leg-up to star in Hollywood movies, VanZant has now become a bona-fide reality TV star.
First, she stole hearts when she went back to her first passion - dancing - to appear on Dancing with the Stars.
And she showed that she still looked good on the dancefloor, showing off a perfect paso-doble to win votes and praise from the judges.
VanZant finished runner-up to deaf model Nyle DiMarco, but it didn’t matter because she became a household name to middle America.
A year later, VanZant was invited to be a contestant on Chopped - a celebrity cooking competition akin to Masterchef in the UK.
After breezing through the appetiser and entree rounds, she found herself in the show’s finale, the dessert round.
This time, she became a reality TV-winner edging out former Olympic gold medalist figure skater Dorothy Hamill.
HAPPY EVER AFTER
In 2017, VanZant began dating MMA fighter and former amateur wrestler Austin Vanderford.
They were engaged in January, 2018 and that same year VanZant shocked fans when she revealed they had married on the quiet by sharing her wedding photos on Twitter.
She sweetly captioned the Tweet, “Mrs Vanderford” as she looked stunning in a white dress.
Recently, VanZant has seen her UFC career interrupted by injuries that have hampered her progress in the Octagon.
She hasn’t fought since January last year when she beat Rachael Ostovich, after a year out with a broken arm.
She has one more fight left on her current UFC contract and has been begging boss Dana White to give her a match-up.
VanZant has been training with her husband recently, and regularly posts naked photos on her Instagram page.
However, as she as already proven during her life, she’ll always be a fighter.
And you’d be a fool to bet against her making a victorious comeback.
This article first appeared inThe Sun and was reproduced with permission.
