Bare-knuckle boxing star Britain Hart admits her post-fight thoughts “came out a little crazy” after she went viral for screaming “I’m not a person” after ruining ex-MMA poster girl Paige VanZant’s BKFC debut on Friday.
The bout at BKFC KnuckleMania in Florida had garnered significant attention as the promotional bow for VanZant, who surprised fans with her switch to the brutal gloves-off world of bare-knuckle when her deal with the UFC expired last year.
After claiming a 49-46 victory over VanZant across all three scorecards – and improving her bare-knuckle record to 2-2 – an exhilarated Hart gave a post-fight interview which immediately etched her name into fighting folklore.
“I’m not a person, though, I'm not. I’m a f*cking feeling, and all of you guys are going to feel it,”Hart screamed bizarrely to the arena, having been told to "stay humble" by VanZant as the pair embraced following the fight.
The clip was shared far and wide on social media, prompting calls for the iconic phrase to adorn T-shirts and various other merchandise.
The 31-year-old has now revealed she didn’t expect the attention – but stood by her words as “the right way to explain who I am as a fighter and as a person."
“I’m a fighter, but I’m a mom, I’m a friend. I’m all these things, but the best thing to say is ‘I’m a f*cking feeling,’” Hart said, MMA Fighting reported.
“It came out a little crazy, because I just did bare-knuckle, went 10 minutes getting punched bare-knuckle in the face... but I didn’t have any idea that it would get attention like that.”
She admitted that she had feared the judges would favor VanZant because of her profile and the substantial noise surrounding the star’s entry into the BKFC ranks.
“Of course, I overreacted a little more than usual, because it was a surprise to me that people are actually living up to their word in being fair in their decisions and choice-making,” Hart said.
Hart had clashed with VanZant at the ceremonial face-off before the fight, where the 26-year-old former MMA star appeared to shove her rival away from her by the throat.
“When she put her hand on my neck and my throat, that fighter instinct in me again, I kind of was like, what the hell is she doing that for?" Hart explained of the clash.
"I’m doing something normal, coming up in your face for a weigh-in photo, and you’re going to put your hands on me?
“I think it proved a message that she was thinking that she might have been above everything, and she makes the rules, and that she’s not having respect coming into a game, where I know all the rules and know how to do it. I just don’t think that was a smart move against a veteran.”
Hart said she wouldn’t rule out a rematch with the high-profile VanZant, who last year penned a multi-fight deal with BKFC which she has claimed will earn her “10 times more” than what she was getting in the UFC.
VanZant emerged from Friday’s clash with a defeat and bruising below her left eye, but apart from that was relatively unscathed.
She has since been enjoying rest and recuperation, sharing images with her 2.7 million Instagram followers of herself smiling on the beach.
Hart said she would be willing to run it back with VantZant, only this time would not trouble the judges.
“I’m honestly thinking every round I beat her, but if she wanted to do it again, I’m a company person... If we did do the rematch, I’d fix the problems I had that would have perhaps knocked her out,” she vowed.
