TAMPA, Fla. – Take a look around social media, and you’ll find a lot of people surprised by Rachael Ostovich’s performance in her bare-knuckle boxing debut against Paige VanZant, but not her.
“I mean, I’ve been doing this for 10 years. Maybe it wasn’t bare-knuckle, but I was confident,” Ostovich told MMA Junkie. “I was confident in myself, and I knew I was gonna come out with that W.”
And that’s exactly what Ostovich did Friday night at the Florida State Fairgrounds, defeating VanZant in a five-round war at Bare Knuckle FC 19. Ostovich, who consistently found a home for her overhand right, outpointed VanZant to win a unanimous decision by scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.
The victory avenged a January 2019 submission loss to VanZant while the two competed in the UFC. It was also Ostovich’s first win in a combat sports competition since a December 2017 submission of Karine Gevorgyan at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale.
Combined with her personal life, it’s been a difficult few years for Ostovich. In 2018, she was the victim of physical abuse by her then-husband, who pleaded no contest to domestic assault and was sentenced to four years of probation in the highly publicized case. Ostovich continued on with her MMA career and fought VanZant two months later at UFC Fight Night 143. Ostovich fought for the UFC – and lost to Gina Mazany – once more before she was released in December 2020 on a three-fight losing skid.
Suffice to say, the feeling of victory after BKFC 19 was a long time coming.
“It is so sweet, so sweet,” Ostovich said. “I was just thinking that, ‘Dang, it’s been a long time.’ But, you know what, you’ve got to keep pushing and believe in yourself, be confident, trust God. He writes good stories, and this was a good story.”
She continued, “I (was) fighting Paige VanZant. Different rules, but this was basically a street fight. This is the most rawest thing ever, and I won.”
Heading into the fight, VanZant touted her one-fight experience in bare-knuckle – a loss to Britain Hart – and knowing what it feels like to be in the ring as a key difference in why she would win. Ostovich, though, proved that the experience – from the beginning of fight week all the way to the final bell – didn’t matter one bit.
“It’s pretty similar – fight week, weigh-ins, press conference, all of that. Walking out. But it was actually kind of a relief in that I could just focus on the standup,” Ostovich said. “Obviously bare-knuckle, but once it starts going, you get used to it. That adrenaline kicks in. And I get kind of crazy, too, out there.”
It showed.
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For Rachael Ostovich, BKFC 19 win over Paige VanZant feels ‘so sweet’
