Cody Garbrandt is looking to make history as he faces UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz in the co-main event of UFC 207, but friend and teammate Paige VanZant, who is coming off of a loss to Michelle Waterson at UFC On Fox 22. Garbrandt believes that all VanZant needs to do is find her groove to get back on track.
“She’s young,” Garbrandt said at the UFC 207 media day. “She’s very skilled, very athletic. We have a great team, great coaches. She’ll find her groove again. She’ll find her groove. That’s the thing with fighting. It’s a crazy sport. You win some, you lose some, but it’s how you bounce back. Look how she bounced back from the Rose loss. Coming off of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ with all that pressure and she only had six weeks to get ready — has an amazing, highlight-reel knockout.”
VanZant has also taken opportunities outside of the UFC, such as competing on Dancing With The Stars. Garbrandt says that VanZant may have some tough choices to make down the line.
“That’s something that she’s gonna have to decide — if she’s gonna be a fighter or an entertainer,” Garbrandt said. “It’s not a bad position that she’s in, to be able to dabble in both. I tell you, if I could dance like that, I wouldn’t be fighting. I’ll be dancing. I love fighting. It’s something i want to do. If something were to arise out of this, I’ll take it. But I’m focused on fighting and she should be, too. She’s young and she has so many years of getting better. It’s about her, what she wants to do, at the end of the day. With Paige, she’s fighting those top-10 girls in those fights, you’ve gotta train. You know, train and keep active and be solely focused on them. The girls are evolving. There were a couple of them that stood out, but now they’re getting really well-rounded. She’ll be fine. She’s young and she’ll get back on.”
UFC 207 takes place on Friday, December 30 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey headlining.
