Kailin Curran: Paige VanZant rematch would be 'awesome for both our careers'

Kailin Curran finally took a step forward in her career when she registered her first UFC victory in December. Now she wants to go backward and rematch Paige VanZant.

VanZant (6-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings, is not a step backward in terms of quality of opponent for the unranked Curran (4-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC).

Curran and VanZant first met when they both made their first UFC appearance at UFC Fight Night 57 in November 2014. It was a back-and-forth contest, which won “Fight of the Night” honors, but ultimately Curran was unable to sustain VanZant’s rapid pace and succumbed to a third-round TKO loss.

The defeat was discouraging at the time for Curran, she said. That carried over into her next bout against Alex Chambers at UFC Fight Night 65 in May. Curran was once against very competitive, but a mental lapse resulted in her being caught in an armbar for the third-round submission defeat.

Although the two-fight skid could have broken Curran, she said she stayed positive and finally got her first UFC win with a second-round submission of Emily Kagan at UFC Fight Night 80 in December. Curran said the lows were tough to endure, but the high of victory made the hardship worth it.

“If you watch the fight you can kind of see right after I won I let go of a lot of tears. I was extremely happy, I was super stoked just to finally seal the deal and get the win,” Curran told MMAjunkie. “There’s times where I could have just gave up and just been like, ‘This is not for me.’ Because I always came so close and didn’t really get the win, but I feel like by me going through those losses and actually pushing through those, that it makes me feel more confident and makes me want to push harder and get better.

“I feel like since then I’ve come a long way in just growing as an individual and an MMA fighter. … My first two fights I came really close but kind of came up short at the same time. It was just a really good feeling to get that win, and especially a submission too and not a decision win.”

After starting her UFC career with an undefeated record, Curran’s confidence was torn down by the back-to-back losses, he said. The victory over Kagan began to build her back up, but Curran said there’s no better way to prove her progress than to cross paths with VanZant again.

Curran said the rematch “makes sense” after VanZant suffered a fifth-round submission loss to Rose Namajunas at the same event where she beat Kagan. And whether it happens next or a few fights down the line, she said it would be a very important showdown.

“For me that only makes sense,” Curran said. “Our debut together, I feel like it shouldn’t have went that way. It got stopped like two minutes into the third round and I felt like I was getting back up, I felt like the ref shouldn’t have stopped it. I feel like if we rematch I have a good chance at that and it would be awesome for both our careers.”

Revenge may be on Curran’s mind, but if VanZant isn’t ready to throw down again quite yet, the 24-year-old said she would be ready to take on anyone at 115 pounds. With the setbacks hopefully behind her, Curran said her primary objective is to advance her career.

“I’m going to try to figure it out and get in (UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby’s) ear about what’s next,” Curran said. “I’m really looking forward to getting back in there and keeping the ball rolling and hopefully getting another win and starting a win-streak.”

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