UFC's Paige VanZant closes Week 4 of 'Dancing with the Stars' with top scores of season

from MMA Junkie on Apr 12, 2016
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Paige VanZant was back on “Dancing with the Stars” on Monday night – and in a coveted position.

VanZant and pro partner Mark Ballas closed out the fourth week of the show during the series’ “Disney Week.” While being picked to open the show or close the show isn’t a hard and fast rule, it is generally reserved for routines the producers know from rehearsals will be worthy of the placement.

In essence, VanZant was in the “Dancing with the Stars” Week 4 main event. And the UFC strawweight delivered. With a guest judge added to the mix, VanZant and Ballas picked up four nines for their quickstep, which on “Disney Night” was done to “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story,” with Ballas as Woody and VanZant as cowgirl Jessie.

The judges, including guest panelist Zendaya, the Season 16 runner-up, raved about VanZant’s performance.

“Your athleticism carried you through that dance,” Carrie Ann Inaba told VanZant. “That was probably, I think, the most difficult dance performed tonight as far as technique and all that you had into it – the athleticism, and the energy. It was fantastic. You blew me away.”

The scores tied them with “Good Morning America” meteorologist Ginger Zee for the highest number of the night. The 36/40 also inched VanZant a little closer to the top overall spot four weeks into the competition and kept her in second place, but now alone. Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris continues to lead the competition with 97 points overall, but VanZant is just behind him with 95 and now ahead of deaf model Nyle DiMarco, who has 93. Zee is in fourth place with 92 points.

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. When it came time to eliminate one more couple, VanZant and Ballas were safe. Ex-NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and actress Marla Maples, Donald Trump’s ex-wife, were in jeopardy. Maples and pro partner Tony Dovolani were eliminated, even though Maples had 10 more overall points than Flutie from the judges – a testament to how important the fan voting is on the competition.

Next week’s show will be a new challenge for VanZant. Week 5 is “Switch-Up Week,” and each celebrity contestant will have to perform with a new pro partner chosen by fans.

Going into the season, VanZant was the betting favorite to win the show at Bovada, which had the 22-year-old at 2-1 to win the long-running ABC dancing competition.

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 fourth dance in full. Below, check out video clips featuring VanZant from Monday night’s “Dancing with the Stars” fourth Season 22 episode. And stay tuned to MMAjunkie later today for VanZant’s exclusive wrap-up Q&A with MMAjunkie from Episode No. 4.

Voting is open online at ABC.com and at the “Dancing with the Stars” Facebook page until 8 p.m. ET. Paige VanZant and Mark Ballas can be followed on Twitter (@paigevanzantufc, @MarkBallas) and Instagram (@paigevanzantufc, @markballas) and through their team hashtag #PowRightInTheKisser.

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