Mark Ballas And Paige VanZant Hoping To Go All The Way On Dancing With The Stars (New Interview)
Mark Ballas and Paige VanZant talked to Fox Sports about dancing on Dancing With The Stars. Mark has been wanting to get Paige to dance for several seasons. Right now, Paige is putting dancing first above fighting and everything else. She and Mark are hoping to make it to the finals (I hope they do too!).
With only a few weeks to go in the competition, VanZant and Ballas are coming into the home stretch where each dance could mean the difference between a championship and going home empty-handed.
Ballas has won the show twice previously, with Kristi Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson, and he believes VanZant could be the key ingredient to championship No. 3.
“I think Paige definitely has what it takes,” Ballas said. “I’m going to give it 100,000 percent. I’ve been a champion twice, I’ve been in eight finals, and there’s been a couple of times where I felt like I was going to get it and I failed at the last hurdle. I feel like Paige and I definitely have what it takes.”
As for VanZant, just like in her fighting career, she’s never been cocky or overconfident when making predictions, but she would love to go back to the UFC after winning a “Dancing with the Stars” trophy.
“I would love to be in the finals. I would love to get there,” VanZant said. “I definitely want to make an impact on the UFC and on MMA. Now that I’ve been on the show, I’ve created some really great relationships with the other celebrities so when someone is eliminated, I don’t want anyone to go home because I love everybody. It’s unfortunate when anyone goes home but I don’t want my name called. Of course, I want to win.”
Over the course of the show, VanZant and Ballas have bridged the gap from teammates to become great friends and even the UFC strawweight’s manager feels like he’s become part of the family over the last six weeks they’ve been training together for the show.
“I think they have a great partnership,” VanZant’s manager Mike Roberts said. “Mark has been a great teacher, and Paige has been a great student as well. Paige is full of great ideas, and Mark has been very receptive to them. He has been a true pleasure to work with from the start. I think going forward they will continue to get better and better, and Mark is now part of the MMA Inc family for life.”
The show has also become a litmus test for VanZant’s future because she’s always enjoyed the idea of exploring a world outside of fighting with possible gigs in acting or modeling after “Dancing with the Stars” is finished.
To read the full interview, see Fox Sports.
ETA: Below is Paige on Access Hollywood today too. Thanks Abby!
I maybe bias cause she is my favorite but loved that interview. What a sweetheart!
Paige is one of my favorites, Angela. If she is the one to win the MBT, I will be happy for her.
Woo-hoo! Great finds Vogue and Abby. I just love Paige. So glad Mark was able to convince TPTB she was a good get for the show.
Excellent interview with her and Mark by Fox Sports — hope that rallies the UFC fans to vote for her. I think she’s really doing a lot for UFC by showing the DWTS demo (which is very different from the UFC demo) that female fighters aren’t just “butch thugs”.
Definitely one of the better Access Hollywood interviews too. Billy Bush actually showed intelligence when he said the bullying she experienced was probably more about what was lacking in the bullies than anything about Paige (or more broadly, the person being bullied). Dude isn’t as shallow and stupid as he comes across on most interviews.
Thanks Cids and so true about Billy. He can be so caring and genuine when he wants to be. Speaking of Billy, he’s moving on from AH soon and moving to the “Today” show.
I’d love to see Paige and Mark in the finals as well. She seems like a good role model for young girls. Intelligent, sweet, a good work ethic and enterprising.
I’m also happy for Mark. He really seems to be in a great place in his personal and his professional life. We’ve kind of watched him grow up and mature on screen over the years. Same thing with Derek and Lindsay. It’s kind of like watching your niece and nephews grow up and become successful, happy and decent adults. It gives you a somewhat proprietary interest in their growth.
Interesting to see that Paige is also considering an acting or modeling career. When I googled her pre-season, I thought, “What a pretty girl.” But when I see her “live” so to speak, there’s more. Paige has that extra special quality that captivates. And she seems to be able to learn quickly/ take instruction, factors that should help her in transitioning to modeling and acting.