Things did not go well last night (Friday, February 5, 2021) with Paige VanZant at BKFC 16: ‘KnuckleMania’ live on FITE.tv PPV from RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Fla., As the former UFC star lost to the peer-to-peer counterpart Britain Hart via unanimous decision (highlights HERE).
Although it was VanZant’s bare knuckle debut, and she is expected to experience a bit of a learning curve, his performance certainly does not match the hype surrounding the fight. As one of the most recognizable names in MMA for women, ’12 Gauge ‘hoped to make a big splash in her debut at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) and put the fairly new promotion on the map.
Unfortunately, Hart was the better fighter Friday night and he outscored VanZant over the course of five somewhat entertaining rounds. VanZant took to Instagram after her loss to show off her battle wounds and issue a quick statement.
‘Humble in victory. Humble in defeat. ”
VanZant, 26, has just signed with BKFC in August, so she will have plenty of time to heal and once again give a kneecap. The former UFC fighter was never known for being incredibly conspicuous, but some expected her to handle Hart in her debut based on martial arts experience alone. Just go show that everything is possible and that there should be no agreement with the build-up before the battle.
Perhaps this loss pushes VanZant into a WWE career sooner than she expected.
For complete BKFC 16 ‘KnuckleMania’ results and coverage click here.