UFC veteran Paige VanZant hit the canvas early, but rallied to leave the judges unable to determine a winner in the MF & DAZN: X Series 15 main event vs. Elle Brooke.
The middleweight boxing bout at NRG Arena in Houston went the full five rounds, but VanZant was in trouble in the first round after Brooke dropped her with a solid punching combination punctuated with a sharp right hand. After the final bell, dueling 48-46 scores were submitted, while the third judge scored the fight 47-47, resulting in a split draw.
DOWN GOES VANZANT 🥊💥#XSeries15 | @MisfitsBoxing | May 25 pic.twitter.com/2QGNkoUgez
— MF & DAZN X Series (@MF_DAZNXSeries) May 26, 2024
VanZant recovered and did her best to erase the memory of touching the canvas. Over the next four rounds, “12 Gauge” pressed forward, weathering a few more big punches from Brooke.
Two judges were split in determining a winner, while the third saw the fight even. As a result, the split draw allows Brooke to retain her Misfits middleweight title.
#BrookeVanZant ends in a draw 👀
How did you score this one?! pic.twitter.com/4bAIw2kGZC
— MF & DAZN X Series (@MF_DAZNXSeries) May 26, 2024
“It is what it is. It sets up the perfect rematch,” VanZant said during her in-ring post-fight interview. “… It looks like we’re going to do it one more time, I think in Dubai, it sounds like.”
Brooke wasn’t upset at the result, although she thought her early knockdown would have given her the nod. Regardless, she’s excited about the potential “big money” rematch in the near future.
The fight was VanZant’s first combat sports outing since a unanimous decision loss in a bareknuckle boxing bout against Rachael Ostovich at BKFC 19. Although she has been competitive in her last four outings across MMA, boxing and bareknuckle, VanZant has not recorded a win since submitting Ostovich when they met in the UFC in 2019.
