"As if I'm fighting Felice Herrig again" - Paige VanZant addresses mismatch in combat sports legacy with boxing debut opponent Elle Brooke

Former UFC star Paige VanZant recently addressed her upcoming boxing bout against Elle Brooke and the mismatch of their sporting history.

Last month, Misfits Boxing confirmed that '12 Gauge' would be making her in-ring debut against Brooke for the MFB women's middleweight title. Their clash is set to go down on May 25 at the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas, on the MF & DAZN: X Series 15 card.

VanZant, who like her opponent is now an OnlyF*ns model, hasn't fought in any capacity since 2021 when she was signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). She lost both her fights in the promotion after making the switch from the UFC, where she went 5-4 during her tenure in the MMA organization.

In comparison, Elle Brooke had never fought in any professional compacity prior to making her Misfits Boxing debut. She has quickly become one of the biggest female stars in the organization, however, and sports a 4-1 record.

Paige VanZant has since weighed in on their sporting mismatch during a recent interview with MMA Fighting. The 30-year-old opted to compare the bout to when she faced Felice Herrig in the UFC, who lost to VanZant on her promotional debut.

She said:

"She [Elle Brooke] is going to come trained and prepared, she's going to be working extremely hard. I watched her last few fights and she's very tough. I'm putting the same into it as if I'm fighting Felice Herrig again. I'm gonna get ready for war."

Catch Paige VanZant's comments here (4:45):

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Paige VanZant insists she is not fighting Elle Brooke to stay relevant

Paige VanZant has explained her reasons for accepting the boxing bout against Elle Brooke.

Following the announcement of the fight, '12 Gauge' has faced criticism from a section of fans who have claimed that she is only stepping into boxing to stay relevant after a mixed MMA and BKFC career.

According to VanZant, however, that couldn't be further from the truth as she has had multiple opportunities outside of fighting. Speaking in the same interview with, the 30-year-old revealed she has pushed back a BKFC bout and a role in a movie in order to take the fight:

“I have a lot of other opportunities on the table. I signed a movie contract that we’re pushing back so I can have this fight. There’s a lot of other things I could be doing, but I choose to fight because I love it, I have multiple other opportunities reaching out to me that are bigger, I guess, in the realm of popularity. But, I wanted to do this boxing match.I wanna go in there, I wanna show how hard I’ve been working in the gym."