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Felice Herrig is no stranger to attention.

"The Ultimate Fighter" alum has worked for years to build a fan base stemming from her fight career, interviews, fan interaction and through her social media outlets. Long before doing the reality show, Herrig learned how valuable a network like Twitter could be when trying to gain popularity or help to hype an upcoming fight.

So Herrig can't begrudge her next opponent, Paige VanZant, for soaking up the spotlight she's received following her UFC debut last year when she defeated Kailin Curran and also earned "Fight of the Night" honors in her first fight. Since that time, VanZant has also picked up a lucrative sponsorship with Reebok and was named one of the AskMen.com "top 99 outstanding women" list, coming in at No. 53.

Still, Herrig knows that the flame that burns twice as bright also burns half as long.

"I think it's just because she's new and people really haven't seen her or what she's all about. You jump on what you think is going to be the next big thing," Herrig told FOX Sports when speaking about VanZant. "I do firmly believe that when you build something from the ground floor on your own, it lasts longer. There's longevity in it. I think you see all the time in music you have those one-hit wonders or those people that have their 15 minutes of fame.

Herrig knows through all her experience plus the time she spent on "The Ultimate Fighter" where she stacks up with the best in the world at 115 pounds. 

The jury is still out on VanZant, who is 1-0 in the UFC, with her only victory coming over another debuting fighter with four professional fights in her career. Because of the attention that's been heaped on her shoulders, VanZant will walk into her bout with Herrig with a lot to live up to, and meeting expectations can sometimes be the toughest job in the world.

"I know I earned my spot," Herrig said. "I know I'm right where I belong, and I know I'm not going anywhere. So a win or a loss isn't going to derail me. I don't have that kind of pressure on myself."

Going from a newcomer to a veteran with more than three times as much experience will definitely test where VanZant ranks in this division. Herrig isn't exactly trying to trash-talk VanZant in that respect, but she hopes the second-time UFC fighter realizes this is going to be a much more difficult task than the last one she undertook in the Octagon.

"Not to take anything away from Kailan Curran, but I'm definitely a step up as far as competition goes. We'll see how she handles it," Herrig said. "The thing about being on the show, about being on "The Ultimate Fighter," that does help you get prepared for everything.

"Paige didn't really have to go through that, and I think that may be another reason why she's getting some attention. On 'The Ultimate Fighter' you saw the girls every week, you saw a division and then you saw girls get weeded out. A lot of the people already saw where everybody stacks up in the division, but Paige wasn't on the show so nobody really got to see where she stacked up with the strawweights, so nobody really has anything to compare her to."

Judging by the rankings and career accomplishments, Herrig should be the fighter to watch going into her bout with VanZant, but it doesn't necessarily feel that way just a couple of weeks out from the card. 

Herrig doesn't mind one bit because no matter how many sponsorships VanZant lands or top-100 lists she occupies, she still has to get in the cage and fight next Saturday night. That's when Herrig plans to send VanZant crashing back to reality. "The thing is in this sport, you can't skate by with a pretty face if you can't back it up," Herrig said.

"Somebody has to stop her hype train, and why (can't that) be me? I would much rather this (fight) getting a lot of hype and a lot of attention. The more she gets hyped up, the better it is for me if I beat her."

source:http://www.foxsports.com/