Paige VanZant’s Debut Gets Critique From Fellow Power Slap Star, She Was Flinching!

Paige VanZant‘s getting a peer review of her Power Slap debut … with fellow competitor Sheena Bathory telling TMZ Sports it was overall a good performance — but there’s one thing in particular that caught her attention.

The former UFC fighter went up against Christine Wolmarans in Power Slap 8 last week … the first-ever slap battle of her combat sports career.

VanZant knocked Wolmaran down twice in the four-round match and withstood her opponent’s hard strikes … getting the unanimous decision victory. The victory was met with criticism, as many believed Paige flinched before getting hit — a big no-no in the sport.

Bathory agrees with those who pointed out the tactical error … telling us she believes PVZ did it on purpose to avoid the hard impact. But overall, it wasn’t too shabby of an outing for a rookie.

“She did an amazing job for her first slap fight,” Bathory said. “But yeah, I have to admit that she was flinching and I think in the whole four [rounds] she did.”

Bathory said the officials and judges probably missed the maneuver because PVZ’s timing of the flinch, a foul in PS, was so perfect … and Christine, who Sheena fought before in Power Slap, is taking the loss hard.

“I was messaging with her because she’s an awesome person … and it’s a really hard time for Christine to take this kinda loss,” Bathory said.

“She never complained even though she also saw it, or felt it was a flinch but she didn’t complain. She respected the judge’s results.”

We asked Bathory — who is back training after her recent BBL surgery — if she’s willing to get into the slap ring with VanZant in 2025 … and she said she’s down to do it if she makes weight.