When Paige VanZant set her sight on Jon Jones' historic feat in UFC: "Really break that record"
Paige VanZant at one point in time was eyeing breaking a record that Jon Jones holds in the UFC.
In this MMA throwback from May 2015, VanZant was discussing how she wanted to usurp 'Bones' as the youngest titleholder in UFC history. The then-21-year-old combatant out of Team Alpha Male was taking over the strawweight division.
PVZ was climbing the rankings and wanted that 115-pound UFC belt which would have put her in the record books following Jones' 2011 accomplishment.
The present-day UFC heavyweight champion captured the light heavyweight title over Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua at the age of 23 to become the youngest champion in promotional history. This still stands as a distinction that Jon Jones holds as of this writing.
This expressed goal came on the heels of VanZant's win over Felice Herrig during their UFC on Fox 15 throwdown and she spoke about this goal to UFC Tonight at the time. In a transcription from MMA Fighting, VanZant said:
"I still have two years to become the youngest belt holder. I'm going to take my time and really break that record."
Alas, VanZant would never get a crack at then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and never got a chance to be locked in the cage for a UFC strawweight title fight.
Check out what Paige VanZant has been getting up to present-day below:
Paige VanZant and her combat sports path since this throwback moment
Paige VanZant continued on in the UFC encroaching into the next decade but largely traded wins and losses after this expressed desire to break Jones' record.
While she would collect wins over names like Alex Chambers, Bec Rawlings, and Rachael Ostovich, VanZant also suffered setbacks to Rose Namajunas, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Jessica-Rose Clark, and Amanda Ribas before exiting the UFC ranks.
Following the Ribas defeat at UFC 251, VanZant recognized signing with the UFC would have been a safer option for her but wanted to explore other opportunities outside of mixed martial arts. This first came in the form of losing the gloves and moving over to the world of bare knuckle boxing.
The 30-year-old became a big star signing for BKFC and brought the promotion to another level of notoriety entirely. As of this writing though, VanZant has gone winless in BKFC having suffered losses to current strawweight champion Britain Hart and former UFC opponent Rachael Ostovich.
VanZant also stepped into an AEW ring for a match but has not engaged in pro wrestling since.
The Oregon native had plans for a third BKFC bout, which never materialized and she has since moved on to other avenues.
Paige VanZant recently fought to a draw in gloved boxing versus Misfits titleholder Elle Brooke in May. PVZ also made her Power Slap debut last Friday when she defeated Christine Wolmarans via unanimous decision.