Shauna Bannon believes that her OnlyFans star UFC 304 opponent, Alice Ardelean, “has fight in her” despite fans calling her the promotion’s “worst ever signing”.
Irish Holohan Martial Arts alum and team-mate of Conor McGregor, Bannon was initially set to face 7-2-1 brawler Ravena Oliveira in Manchester this weekend until the 27-year-old Brazilian pulled out due to injury earlier this month. Instead, she will face 9-5 Ardelean – who has been heavily criticised for her social media use.
Despite being on a five-fight winning streak in the world of mixed martial arts, Ardelean has been dubbed the UFC’s “worst-ever signing” due to her three million followers on TikTok. One person took to X to write: “The UFC signing Alice Ardelean is a disgrace to the promotion. Probably the worst signing ever and I’m not joking. Ardelean isn’t a fighter, she’s a TikTok star.”
They added: “She’s won her last five but against who? Such a shame that the best promotion in the world isn’t caring about ‘best in the world’ talent.” Despite fiery comments online from fans of the sport, Bannon knows that she has to take her opponent seriously when they open for UFC 304 at the Co-Op Live in Manchester.
Speaking to The Mirror this week, Bannon said: “I think she has fight in her. I think she’s game – she’s not afraid to get hit, she’s not afraid to bite down on her gum shield and go. I think she has a bit of experience as well I suppose. She’s 9-5 so she’s had a good few MMA fights at professional level.
“And yeah, anyone that’s willing to get in the cage, to lock the cage and fight… anything can happen in there do you know what I mean? I have to take her seriously and go in there and perform. And if I go in there and perform, my best is the best in the world so we’ll have an exciting night on Saturday night.”
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Alice Ardelean)
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Alice Ardelean)
Bannon made her UFC debut almost a year ago to the day, fighting tricky tactician Bruna Brasil on the undercard of Tom Aspinall and Marcin Tybura’s headliner at the O2 in London. And while the 30-year-old headed into the fight with an undefeated 5-0 record – with a wealth of hype behind her thanks to team-mate Conor McGregor, she would ultimately lose the bout via unanimous decision.
Determined to bounce back in Manchester, ‘Mama B’ admits that she’s learnt so much from her first professional loss. She explained: “That performance was so frustrating because it wasn’t anywhere near my full potential. If I had shown up, I would have beaten her everywhere – maybe even got a finish, you know?
“So looking back on that it was very, very, very hard to accept it. It took a lot of time. But I do agree, that you learn so much from a loss. The past year, everything has been thrown my way wrong – and overcoming all of that has made me ten times stronger than I ever thought was possible to be totally honest.
“So I know myself going into this, all the s*** that I’ve had to deal with in this past year has made me so strong. That’s why when people say ‘Oh the opponent change…’. It doesn’t matter who’s in front of me on Saturday. I’m going out there and I’m getting my hand raised whatever it takes. The past year has been f***ing s*** and Saturday is going to make up for it all. I’m going to wake up in my bed on Sunday morning, I’m going to take some deep breaths, and I’m going to say ‘I done it.'”
Bannon also has the support of UFC GOAT McGregor going into her fight on Saturday, with the former lightweight and featherweight champion holding a watch party for her promotional debut at his Black Forge Inn pub in Dublin, Ireland last July. Speaking on their friendship, Bannon said: “Yeah, so he’s sponsored me again.
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AFP via Getty Images)
“He sponsored me for the Jiu-Jitsu world championships that I won in Vegas. He’s so supportive of his own. He always is and it’s great to have that support from literally…when people think of MMA they think of Conor. He is MMA really when you put it that way. It’s like ‘Oh is that that thing that Conor McGregor does?’ when you speak with someone that doesn’t really understand.
“He’s done so much for the sport and I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he’s done for the sport. He’s literally grown it to different levels altogether. So I’m super grateful to have him as a part of my team, and his support always means so much to me.”
Shauna Bannon and Alice Ardelean open the card at UFC 304 in Manchester on Saturday, July 27 at around 11pm.
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