Former UFC flyweight star Paige VanZant’s bare-knuckle boxing debut ended in a disappointment as she suffered a loss against Britain Hart via majority decision at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s BKFC 16 event at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida.
Serving as the main card of BKFC 16, the featherweight 57 kg category fight was announced back in early January, four months after Paige VanZant (MMA record: 8-5) penned a four-bout contract with BKFC in August 2020, parting ways with the octagon.
The heat had already formed between the contenders during the weigh-in, as VanZant was seen grabbing Hart’s neck and shoving the pugilist, before both of them had to be separated.
Britain Hart defeats Paige VanZant via majority decision
Despite being touted as the underdog, Hart shrewd domination over VanZant from the start, starting off with a barrage of punches in the first round, taking advantage of her longer reach over the favorite contender, as blows to VanZant’s left eye and jaw were doing the damage already.
VanZant attempted to bounce back into the match and landed a vicious left hook in the second round, but failed to contain herself towards the later rounds as every attempts to jab Hart would end up in body shots for “12 Gauge”, who fought back well in the fifth round but her adversary already had the job done.
The judges scored 49-46 in favour of Britain Hart, who has now gone up 1-2 in her bare-knuckle boxing career. Holding a record of 4-4-3 in professional boxing, Hart was last seen in action at BKFC 14, where she defeated Randine Elkholm via a 4th round TKO.
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ALSO READ: Paige VanZant open to MMA return after BKFC
BFKC 16 also saw VanZant’s former fellow UFC fighter Chris Leben making an appearance in the undercard against Quentin Henry, where he earned a first-round KO to mark an end to his combat sports career.
Paige VanZant made her UFC debut in June 2012 and was last seen inside the Octagon against Amanda Ribas of Brazil at UFC 251 on 12th July last year in Abu Dhabi, losing the fight via an armbar submission.
A former strawweight, the 26-year-old made her Flyweight debut against Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124 on 14th January 2018 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
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