UFC's Paige VanZant opens 'Dancing with the Stars' run tied for 4th place

Paige VanZant’s first appearance on “Dancing with the Stars” is in the books, and the UFC strawweight finds herself tied for fourth place after the Season 22 debut on Monday night.

VanZant and pro partner Mark Ballas were the second couple of 12 to dance on the season premier of the show and danced the foxtrot. The pair got a trio of sevens out of a possible 10 from judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba, which was good enough for a four-way tie for fourth place.

Three couples tied for first with a 23 on opening night: Ginger Zee and pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Wanya Morris and pro Lindsay Arnold, and Nyle DiMarco and pro Peta Murgatroyd.

Going into the episode, VanZant was the betting favorite to win the show at Bovada, which had the 21-year-old at 2-1 to win the long-running ABC dancing competition.

After her foxtrot, VanZant was given a standing ovation by the audience, a fairly common occurrence on the show, including Team Alpha Male teammate Urijah Faber, who was in attendance.

The judges lauded her performance. Tonioli said he wasn’t expecting VanZant to be as light on her feet and said she had “a wonderful affinity for the music.” Inaba proclaimed the fighter to be a “goldmine” for the season, and that she was “fearless” in the way she attacked the dance. Head judge Goodman complimented her posture, given it was her first competitive ballroom dance.

Contestants advance on the show based on their scores with the judges as well as fan votes. Each week, the dancer with the lowest combined score of the judges’ tallies and the fans’ votes is eliminated. The lowest scores for Week 1 were Geraldo Rivera and pro Edyta Sliwinska with 13, Doug Flutie and pro Karina Smirnoff with 15, and Mischa Barton and pro Artem Chigvintsev with 16.

VanZant (6-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) most recently fought in December, when she suffered a submission loss to Rose Namajunas. It halted a three-fight winning streak that had moved the heavily promoted fighter up the 115-pound ranks. “Dancing with the Stars” runs through May, which means VanZant is unlikely to be booked for a fight until her time on the show is over. However, July’s big UFC 200 event would still be in the running for her next fight.

Above, check out VanZant’s first dance in full. Below, check out video clips featuring VanZant from Monday night’s “Dancing with the Stars” Season 22 debut.

VanZant meets partner Mark Ballas

VanZant on doing “more girly things”

VanZant talks to host Tom Bergeron about crying

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba giving advice to VanZant

VanZant talks to co-host Erin Andrews about being an inspiration

VanZant and Ballas get their scores

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