Soon after concluding X Series 14 in England, Misfits Boxing is back, this time in Houston, Texas. At ‘H-Town’s NRG Arena, a crossover bout between Paige VanZant and Elle Brooke will headline the X Series 15 on May 25. The winner of the five-round match between the mixed martial artist and the OnlyFans model will receive the Misfit Boxings’ middleweight title.

The video of the two engaging in verbal sparring in ‘The MMA Hour’s latest episode seems to have amused quite a lot of fans. Another clip, this time featuring Paige VanZant intensely focused on training, appears to be gaining considerable traction. It didn’t take long before fans and users jumped in to express their solidarity with the former UFC flyweight fighter.

Paige VanZant: A Fighter for Life

Misfits Boxing tweeted, “The CHALLENGER @paigevanzant looks sharp on the pads ahead of her Misfits Boxing debut versus Elle Brooke THIS Saturday.” The half-minute-long footage shows VanZant honing her skills with a trainer wearing boxing pads. Constantly moving around, ’12 Gauge’ could be seen trying combinations, throwing jabs, uppercuts, and hooks. 

The Oregon-born VanZant marks her professional boxing debut with the May 25 bout. She appears to have some experience in bare-knuckle fighting. It’s a different fact that both of her bare-knuckle bouts occurred in 2021. Prior to that, from 2014 to 2020, she fought under the UFC banner.

During the discussion in ‘The MMA Hour’, Ariel Helwani shared that Elle Brook reportedly intends to retire Paige VanZant on Saturday. So the 2023 ‘MMA Journalist of the Year’ Award recipient asked whether the fight in Houston could be her last. She said, “No, obviously signed a multi-fight contract… I started extremely young, and um, it is nowhere near over. I will say this feels like to me the beginning of a new era, and it it feels like day one; it’s like I’m starting all over, and it’s pretty exciting.”

’12 Gauge’ Fires

Probably many of the fans could see how seriously ’12 Gauge’ is taking her upcoming pro-debut. Given her background in combat sports, some of the fans believe she might have an edge over Portsmouth-born Brook. The latter last fought on the X Series 12 on the Ed Matthews vs. Luis Pineda undercard on January 20 this year.

This user, for instance, changed their opinion. Initially, they thought that Elle Brooke could end up winning. But now they think that Paige VanZant might take the English woman to task.

Then ’12 Gauge’s footwork seems to have this user a lot. So much so, they believe that it is hard to find any other female fighter in Misfits Boxing or in general gifted with such a technique.

Then this fan believes that Elle Brooke is probably not capable of managing the challenge she is about to face. Ideally, as a tune-up, she should have picked up a regular mixed martial arts fight with mediocre striking skills in her next bout. Going against Paige VanZant after the AJ Bunker fight could be too difficult for her to handle.

Impressed by her punching skills, this fan believes that VanZant might hand over a beatdown to even Dillon Danis.

However, it would be difficult to keep away the Elle Brooke fans. One mentioned that Paige VanZant’s punches barely had any power. Sounding certain that the English woman would emerge as the winner, the user believes that everyone rooting for the American boxer is in for a surprise.

It would be interesting to see whether Elle Brooke is able to leverage her experience against Paige VanZant. However, one thing’s for sure: the Oregon-born Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt has come for a fight. Brooke might be in for the toughest fight of her 3-year-old career.

For Paige VanZant, a win could open the doors for better avenues and a tentative jump to the regular boxing rankings. As she stated, she is just 30. So she still has plenty of time to build up a commendable boxing resume. Apart from the VanZant-Brooke headliner, the card at the NRG Arena boasts an array of exciting fights. The show will reportedly begin with the cruiserweight fight between NFL running back Le’Veon Bell and powerlifter-turned boxer Tristan Hamm.

What’s your take on the reactions? Do you think VanZant stands a chance against Brooke? Please share your views with us in the comments below.