Paige VanZant vs. Bec Rawlings Results: Winner and Reaction from UFC on Fox 21

Paige VanZant took a round to find her rhythm, but she ousted Bec Rawlings with a highlight-reel technical knockout in the second round Saturday night at UFC on Fox 21 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The fight started with VanZant darting out to meet Rawlings. She then employed low-percentage strikes such as a jumping switch kick. Rawlings was well out of range, but VanZant was showing off her skills. Rawlings looked like the more composed fighter and was forcing VanZant to circle on the outside.

But 12 Gauge finally clinched up with Rawlings and landed a good knee in her center. Rawlings responded with a knee of her own when the two broke free. Each time VanZant tried to close the distance, Rawlings scored with crisp punches.

VanZant showed plenty of movement, but getting inside her opponent's range proved difficult.

Rawlings came forward toward the end of the first round, and VanZant scored. The last meaningful exchange saw VanZant score on a kick-punch combination. She seemed to find her range at the end of the frame.

The start of the second confirmed that notion.

VanZant opened the round with a low leg kick. Then the aforementioned jumping switch kick found its mark. Rawlings hit the canvas in a heap, and VanZant pummeled her with hammerfists until the referee stopped the fight just 17 seconds into the second round.

Here's a look at the final blow, courtesy of Fox Sports: UFC, and a sampling of reactions to it from around Twitter:

The loss puts Rawlings back at the end of the pack, but she didn’t look bad in the opening round. She simply got caught by a rare technique that cleaned her clock.

Fightmetric.com's Michael Carroll put VanZant's win into context:

Aside from the numbers, this was an important victory for VanZant. After Rose Namajunas submitted her in December, she needed a big performance to keep momentum as a top-end prospect for the strawweight division.

This performance accomplished that goal.

VanZant told Brian Stann in the cage, during the post-fight interview, that she is angling for a spot on the December card in Sacramento, California. That seems as good a spot as any to continue the forward trajectory of VanZant’s hype train.