Throughout her UFC journey, Paige VanZant has talked about taking things slow. And it makes sense. At just 21 years old, VanZant is both young in the game and one of the few strawweights with the potential to become a legitimate crossover star. The road from prospect to contender can be a fragile one, and considering the unabashed brutality of the division's queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk, there's no doubt that the patient route should be the most lucrative route for a fighter like VanZant.
But that's the funny thing about taking it slow: the higher you aim, the harder it is to stop that crawl from breaking into a full-out sprint.