UFC flyweight contender Paige VanZant is set to be featured in the upcoming 2019 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
The magazine announced the news on Thursday with a pair of videos featuring VanZant during her photoshoot in Mexico.
“I feel like when you’re in Sports Illustrated, that’s when you make it. It’s a really big deal,” VanZant said following the announcement.
“I’m mostly excited for people to see this side of me. I think people forget that yes I’m a professional fighter, my hair is corn-rowed all the time, I punch people in the face for a living but you can look really cute, too.”
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VanZant, 24, has been a crossover star for the UFC since first making her debut in 2014 while competing in the strawweight division.
Following several UFC fights, VanZant then joined the cast of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in season 22 where she made it all the way to the finals before falling in the last episode of the series.
She was also featured on the cooking series ‘Chopped’ where she won a celebrity themed version of the show in 2017.
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Last year, VanZant made waves by releasing her autobiography titled ‘Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life’ before making her return to the UFC in January where she defeated Rachael Ostovich by submission.
Now VanZant joins Ronda Rouse as the only UFC athletes featured in the famed Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
