Paige VanZant updates on recovery, shares timeframe for return

It’s been a long time since we last saw Paige VanZant in the cage. Yet the popular flyweight contender is hoping to return this year, pending an all-clear with respect to her arm injury.

“My arm feels good but my mind is still uneasy,” VanZant told MMA Fighting on Monday. “Before I had my first surgery, I felt great, I went in and my arm was still broken. I had to have a second surgery. I’m at the point where I don’t trust myself. I feel really good but my mind still isn’t at peace until I go in and have my first CT scan. I go in on Wednesday, so Wednesday is the day I get to go in and get my CT scan, see if my arm is healing and hopefully get cleared to start training.

“I can honestly say I’ve done everything correctly. I haven’t rushed anything. I’ve been doing everything it takes to heal this stupid arm. The plan is to fight at the end of the year. I’m hoping I’ll get some good news on Wednesday and I’ll move forward from there.”

While Paige VanZant is eager to get back into the cage, she admits she has not been able to train with the kind of regularity and intensity she likes.

“That’s the hard thing. It’s a mind trip because I am doing nothing right now but I have to understand that doing nothing is doing something,” VanZant stated. “I need to not do anything. I need to sit and just let my arm heal and that was kind of the issue I ran into before. I keep thinking I’m an athlete and I need to keep working out, I need to keep my body in shape and I need to do all these things and there was just too much motion in my arm for it to heal.

“Now I have to understand and it’s a blessing I moved up a weight class because all I can do is sit here and diet. I wasn’t supposed to run for the first eight weeks. I wasn’t supposed to do anything to over exert myself so no running, no heavy walking, they really wanted my arm to be as still as possible because they know I have problems healing. It was telling myself it was OK to just sit on the couch all day. That is still something to help my arm.”

Who do you want to see Paige VanZant fight in her return?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/14/2019.