Ex-UFC fighter Paige VanZant was once left red-faced after a sex tape gaffe with airport staff.
Paige VanZant, the former UFC stunner, is gearing up for her boxing debut against social media sensation Elle Brooke tonight (Saturday, May 25) at Misfits and DAZN: X Series 15 in Texas. But it’s not just VanZant’s fights that make headlines as she once accidentally told airport workers about a sex tape with her husband Austin Vanderford.
VanZant, who tied the knot with the Bellator fighter in 2018, still competes under her maiden name, which caused quite the mix-up at the airport in 2022. Her travel booking didn’t match her passport and in a bid to convince airport staff of her identity, she ended up showing an article relating to an X-rated home movie.
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Spilling the beans on X, formerly known as Twitter, VanZant shared the cringeworthy moment: “So, my flight to Texas got booked under ‘Vanzant’, which I still go by professionally. But my legal last name is my husband’s Austin Vanderford. So to prove who I am I googled myself. First article they see ‘Paige Vanzant and Husband make sex tape’..”
Since ditching the UFC in 2020, VanZant has thrown down in two bare-knuckle brawls with BKFC, signed up for professional wrestling with AEW, and raked in the cash on OnlyFans. The cheeky sex tape reveal came about during a fan Q&A last year when she was quizzed about the possibility of filming one.
“Would I? We definitely already have,” confessed VanZant. “Would I ever sell it, share it, promote it? Well, that’s a different story.”
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The fighter, who captured wider attention after she competed in the US version of Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, has stayed committed to advancing in combat sports. Despite her last win dating back to 2019, the former UFC fighter remains the favourite to claim victory against Brooke in her boxing debut.
VanZant will headline the Misfits Boxing event in Houston against Brooke, who is a hit on TikTok and OnlyFans. Brooke has earned a 4-1 record against fellow social media stars but VanZant is positive about her chances as she prepares for her first boxing bout.
“I know after I beat you, I’m going to go for a drink and celebrate. Maybe we’ll share a drink,” she told Brooke during their face-off. “If you look at my last two fights; one girl had her nose broken and I knocked the other girl’s teeth out. I went 10 rounds in bare-knuckle boxing without a single cut on me. Now we have gloves on it’s different but I feel confident either way.”