By Finlay Cole
Paige VanZant suffered an embarrassing moment when she was dropped by Elle Brooke during their Misfits Boxing fight.
Highlights
- Paige VanZant's boxing debut ended in a draw at the latest Misfits event, with Elle Brooke retaining her title in the process.
- The ex-UFC fighter did taste the canvas, however, in the very first round, being dropped by a huge right shot.
- VanZant's fighting career has been tumultuous to say the least, ranging from bare knuckle fighting and the UFC.
Former UFC fighter, Paige VanZant, was shockingly dropped by influencer Elle Brooke in their Misfits Boxing women's middleweight title bout on Saturday night, the 25th of May, at MF & DAZN: X Series 15.
The British OnlyFans model and reigning champion, Brooke, caught VanZant with a flush straight right at the end of the first round, bringing '12 Gauge' down to the canvas in Houston's NRG Arena.
Despite the knockdown, VanZant hung on and displayed her fighting chops and experience, with the bout lasting the full five rounds. The bout ended in a draw, meaning Brooke retained the championship she took from former Love Island contestant, AJ Bunker, via a third-round KO back in January at MF & DAZN: X Series 12.
Paige VanZant's Fighting Career
VanZant was once a UFC fighter, but her career has spiralled since
The fight marked VanZant's professional boxing debut, but she had previously fought twice for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in 2021, going 0-2 in the promotion. She is most known, however, for her career in the UFC, where she experienced a fairly tumultuous stint.
Paige VanZant's professional MMA career (as of 26/05/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
13 fights | 8 wins | 5 losses |
By knockout | 2 | |
By submission | 3 | 3 |
By decision | 3 | 2 |
Her UFC career began when she was only 19 years old, being named as one of the fighters in the newly established strawweight division in December 2013. To crown the inaugural strawweight champion, the reality television show The Ultimate Fighter would host a tournament. However, VanZant was removed from the show and the tournament in March 2014 since she was under the age limit of 21 to compete on the show due to the presence of alcohol.
The start to VanZant's UFC career was electric. She defeated Kailin Curran by TKO in her debut at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson in November 2014, earning herself Fight of the Night.
Despite her very short UFC career at this point, VanZant became incredibly popular, highlighted through her sponsorship deal with Reebok which was announced after only one UFC fight in February 2015. She rapidly grew to an impressive 3-0 record in the UFC, with a unanimous decision victory over Felice Herrig at UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold in April 2015 and a submission triumph via armbar over Alex Chambers at UFC 191 in September that same year.
GIVEMESPORT's Key Statistic: Paige VanZant lost four of her last six UFC fights.
Her ascension among the strawweight division was cemented as she headlined her first UFC event against future champion Rose Namajunas in December 2015. Originally, she was scheduled to face Joanne Calderwood, but was pulled from the fight. In the biggest fight of her career thus far, '12 Gauge' was outclassed by Thug Rose, submitting in the fifth round via a rear naked choke.
VanZant did, however, bounce immediately back from that loss with a Performance of the Night KO victory over Bec Rawlings in August 2016. Her UFC career would then sadly flame out. She was choked out by Michelle Waterson in her final strawweight bout in December 2016, and then she would go 1-2 in the flyweight division before her UFC departure following her UFC 251 submission loss to Amanda Ribas in July 2020.
VanZant has become somewhat of a celebrity despite her disappointing UFC stint. She was runner-up in Season 22 of Dancing with the Stars in 2016 and even joined professional wrestling company AEW in 2021 for a short run.
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VanZant now makes her money as an OnlyFans model, stating last year to Barstool Sports that she had earned more money in 24 hours from OnlyFans than in her entire fighting career. Good for her!
