Following her minor upset loss to Britain Hart at BKFC KnuckleMania, Paige VanZant took to social media after skipping any post-fight interview in the ring.
VanZant, 26, lost a decision on clear scores of 49-46 from all three judges. It was the former UFC fighter’s first bout in bare knuckle boxing, and was heavily promoted and hyped by BKFC. And without suggesting favoritism, it’s pretty obvious the hope was that VanZant would win and go on to be a drawing card for the company.
PVZ shared a photo of her marked up face, including a mouse that busted under her eye, and kept it simple: “Humble in victory. Humble in defeat,” she wrote.
We’ll probably hear more from VanZant in time, but it’s worth wondering what she’ll do from here. Starting 0-1 in BKFC certainly wasn’t in her plans or the company’s, but she still has a level of celebrity and fame that basically nobody else in bare knuckle boxing can match, even the well-known former MMA fighters they have elsewhere on the roster.
She’s also still young, and did show some sparks in the fight, including a big fifth round where she had Hart rocked a bit. There’s surely reason to believe she can get better with further training directly dedicated to this and not the wider scope of things you have to work on for mixed martial arts.