Paige VanZant Breaks Her Arm And Falls To Jessica-Rose Clark At UFC: St. Louis

After the death of her cat and having her home broken into, Jessica-Rose Clark still triumphs at #UFCSTL https://t.co/f0EecZNm8L

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 15, 2018

Thanks to some particularly gruesome injuries while training and a burgeoning career outside the Octagon, Paige VanZant hasn’t fought since her loss to Michelle Waterson in December 2016. While she’s been away, Joanna Champion has fallen to Rose Namajunas and the UFC has created a 125-pound division which will allow her to move up in weight and stop cutting to an unhealthy degree. If the goal is to push PVZ to superstardom, she’s got a new division that’s going to be far less draining for her, and it’s shallow.

So at UFC Fight Night: St. Louis, PVZ took on Jessica-Rose Clark, who lost her cat after thieves robbed her house and killed it just days before the event. PVZ was able to land some good strikes early, but Clark was able to take her down to the ground multiple times, showing a vast difference in strength. Maybe PVZ’s move up in weight wasn’t the best move?

Round two starts with both ladies exchanging and PVZ getting a sweet spinning backfist to land. She’s awkward with her strikes and looks like nothing can gas her. Then, she gets taken down by Clark again, and gets beat up on the ground for a few more minutes until she falls into a Clark triangle attempt, where she defends admirably while eating elbows until the bell rings. Paige has heart. A ton of heart.

The announcers say that PVZ told her corner that she broke her right arm in the first round, and she’s spending a lot of time feinting kicks. Shockingly, she might be winning the third round with the injured arm, but Clark is still landing quite a few shots clean. After the bell, she grasped at her arm in pain.

The judges unanimously give the fight to Clark, and PVZ goes back to the drawing board.