Bec Rawlings has been around the proverbial block a few times in the MMA game. In almost five years in the sport, she’s seen plenty of heavily-hyped fighters come and go, and she’s ready to help UFC on FOX 21 opponent Paige VanZant with the “go” part.

Speaking with our partners at Champions.co, Rawlings (7-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) detailed her thoughts on playing the villain in the marketing for the clash with VanZant (6-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC).

“I think the villain role just kind of comes hand in hand with me,” Rawlings said. “I speak my mind, and I’m not always the perfect little princess that some of the girls are on camera. I keep it real, so if that means I’m the villain, so be it. I kind of like that role. It’s no secret I’m fighting America’s sweetheart. It’s cool, I don’t mind being the villain, especially in this kind of fight.”

UFC on FOX 21 takes place Aug. 27 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The event airs on FOX following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

VanZant has not competed in the UFC since a one-sided submission loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC Fight Night 80. Since that fight, she participated – and finished second – on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Despite the one-sided loss to Namajunas, the hype machine has not stopped rolling for VanZant. Rawlings compared her promotional support to that of another young blonde fighter, Sage Northcutt.

“For sure, it’s the ‘Sage and Paige Show,’” Rawlings said. “It has been for a while. Rose gave her a whooping and she’s still getting marketed and pushed. I guess she needs to take two whoopings to bring it down a notch.

“I keep saying she’s just coming off ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ I hope she’s ready to dance with the devil.”

Check out the full video for more thoughts from Rawlings.

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