Paige VanZant warned she may never box again ahead of ring debut against Tik Tok star Elle Brooke (2024)

Paige VanZant’s boxing debut could end up being a one-and-done, if her opponent Elle Brooke has anything to say about it.

The former UFC star has been out of combat action for almost three years after her last bare knuckle boxing match against Rachael Ostovich. In the meantime she signed with AEW for a professional wrestling run, and built up a sizeable earning from her social media activity.

But she has remained keen on fighting, and finally gets the chance against Misfits Boxing champion Brooke in Houston at X-Series 15 this weekend. But she’ll face a stern test in the social media star, who has knocked out two of her five opponents and sparred with world champions such as Ebanie Bridges.

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Paige VanZant warned she will be sent back to MMA by Elle Brooke

In an exclusive chat with Bloody Elbow ahead of this weekend’s bout, Brooke explained that she feels VanZant is something of a ‘Jack of all trades’. But she sees the famed fighter as a master of none, and will be heading back to either BKFC or MMA after just one boxing effort.

“I think to be honest, she’s someone that has done a bit of everything,” Brooke said. “Whether it’s MMA, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, she’s done everything and she’s like a Jack of all trades, but she’s never mastered one thing.

“I think for her say she loses at boxing, she’s already got so many other sports in the fighting world that she could just jump on to. She could just go back to BKFC or another MMA promotion, even the UFC or anything else.”

And Brooke reckons that her position in the combat world will be weakened by having lost her sole Misfits bout, adding: “I think for her, the options are endless but it’s always going to be there that she did get beat by an influencer.”

Elle Brooke brands Paige VanZant a ‘golden retriever’ amid awkward fight buildup

One strange dynamic in the lead-up to Saturday night’s historic fight is the lack of heat or trash talk between the pair. After 14 shows, Misfits Boxing is finally handing the main event to a women’s fight, and Brooke is making big efforts to promote with an aggressive campaign against her opponent.

But VanZant is infamously respectful of her rivals and has refused to delve into the trash talking campaign, much to Brooke’s frustration. But she says it hasn’t caused a personal issue, even noting that it appears the former UFC star is a decent person.

“She’s a massive golden retriever, that’s the best way to describe her,” Brooke explained when asked if the pair really have a beef going into Saturday. “She’s not getting to me but if anything it’s making me realise I’m built for this.

“I’m everything that crossover boxing should be; I just had to do these questions for Misfits and I had to ask her three questions about the fight. Hers were just like ‘do you really eat bangers and mash and drink tea?’

“I don’t think she quite gets the influencer boxing and crossover boxing scene. We had an interview yesterday with Ariel Helwani and she said specifically she was a UFC fighter and she is a fighter, but I think to cross over into this space there has to be some kind of give.”

Elle Brooke explains why she stays fighting despite success outside of the ring

Before getting into boxing in 2022, Brooke was a successful social media star earning a solid living through her various platforms. And while those have only grown in the past two years, she continues to fight in order to stay disciplined.

Fans will be able to catch up on her intensive boxing training camp with a show on OFTV entitled Rise and Grind: Elle Brooke. And she feels it will explain why she has decided to change up her lifestyle and become a boxer.

“I get a lot of hate comments or DMs with people saying ‘you’re not a real fighter, what do you think you’re doing? You’re trying to do this, trying to do that’. I think when people actually see the episode they’re going to think ‘damn, she actually works hard and puts her heart, mind and soul into it’.

“Then people are going to give me the props because I do train hard and the people around me are solid. So people are going to get a bit of insight. All everyone sees is a 5x2minute boxing fight and they think that’s ten minutes and it’s easy to achieve.

“They don’t see that within that ten minutes is months and months of hard work every day, grinding at the gym with blood, sweat and tears. At least this episode will give some limelight to how hard I actually work.

“I never used to be an athletic kid, I was a fat kid and I hated sports. I would try to get out of PE any way I could. The fact that I’m now improving my health and fitness is a massive thing.”

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