It’s coming up on a year since Paige VanZant was in the cage, and if all goes right she’ll be back to work in January.

When she does get back from a tough injury that required arm surgery, the women’s flyweight division will look a lot different than the last time she was in action.

“It’s opened up,” VanZant recently told MMAjunkie. “There’s all kinds of crazy stuff going on and it’s really hard for me to watch all these other women be so successful – me being forced to sit on the sidelines is hard.”

VanZant (7-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) broke her arm in a unanimous-decision loss to Jessica-Rose Clark, then had surgery in January. Complications led to a second surgery in July.

Not long after that, she got married to fighter Austin Vanderford – so that at least kept her mind occupied with happier thoughts than itching to get back into the cage.

But now at flyweight instead of strawweight, VanZant will be ready to see what happens when former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and Valentina Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meet for the vacant flyweight belt at UFC 231, which takes place Dec. 8 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

“I’ve been paying attention,” she said. “I think it’s obviously going to be an amazing fight and I know they have fought in the past. They’ve had three muay Thai fights, and Valentina has won all of them. But this is very different – it’s an MMA fight. So I’m excited to watch it as a spectator and a fan, but I’m also going to watch it as a critic and seeing that division open up. I’m excited to see the fight, but more than anything I’m excited ot get back in there myself.”

VanZant believes Jedrzejczyk may look like a completely different fighter now that she’s moved up from 115 pounds, where she lost her title to Rose Namajunas by knockout, then lost the rematch by decision – the only two losses of her MMA career.

Jedrzejczyk frequently has cited her hard weight cut to 115 pounds as one of the culprits behind her losses. Now she’ll have 10 fewer pounds to worry about.

“I totally believe (Jedrzejczyk will be better),” VanZant said. “There’s been only a few people that you look at for weigh-ins and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, you look like you’re going to die.’ And that’s Conor (McGregor) when he drops down to ’45, and it’s Joanna when she makes 115. She’s tall, and she looks like she cuts a lot of weight, and I’m sure that she does. I know that moving up, she’s got to feel more athletic and more sound in her capabilities. So I’m excited to see it.”

To hear VanZant and Vanderford’s entire sitdown interview, check out the video above.

And for more on the UFC schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.