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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The UFC has one more open slot to fill for the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will begin filming in May and will introduce the women's strawweight division to the organization. They had initially pulled 11 fighters from Invicta FC for the season, but one of the competitors - Paige Vanzant out of Team Alpha Male - will be going straight into the UFC instead.
There's a practical reason for her removal from the tournament and a shift right into the UFC, as the 20-year-old prospect is under the legal drinking age, and the TUF house will have alcohol available for the competitors.
News of Vanzant's move right into the UFC comes courtesy of Team Alpha Male's Urijah Faber, who revealed the news in an interview with Anton Tabuena at BloodyElbow.com this week.
"Paige has now signed straight with the UFC," said Faber, while commenting on how he sees her plugging into that field. "I haven't taken a look at that strawweight division yet, but she works hard and she's got a good head on her shoulders. She's an athlete, that's for sure. Hopefully she does really well."
The Ultimate Fighter 20 still has ten spots filled, and they'll fill the other six off an open tryout in Las Vegas next month. The season will be coached by UFC Lightweight Champ Anthony Pettis and top contender Gilbert Melendez.
Penick's Analysis: At least keeping her out of the TUF house doesn't keep her out of the Octagon. I wonder if the UFC will introduce the division early to get her a fight, or if they'll still pay her the $32,000 they're paying the first 11 they tapped for this show to stay out until late in the year. It's sensible not to put an under-the-legal-drinking-age fighter into that TUF house, because they're liable for whatever goes on there and could face trouble if anything were to happen with her, so really this move isn't a surprise.
UPDATE: Vanzant has now commented on Twitter, in a response that has since been deleted, stating that she was still on the show as far she knew:
Rumors have started circulating that I will not be on TUF20. I have not been told this information and as of now will be on the show.
— Paige Vanzant (@PAIGEVANZANT) March 31, 2014
Perhaps she didn't know that was going to be the case, and has now found out via that story, but again, it would make sense for her to not be in the TUF house based on the drinking issue.
UPDATE #2: Since her Tweet has been deleted, there has been reported confirmation from
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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