Alice Ardelean’s path to the UFC has been different than most.
The 32-year-old from Romania, who is based in Birmingham, has been drafted in for a short-notice fight against Shauna Bannon at UFC 304 in Manchester on July 27.
3
Ardelean was knocked out when she fought UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang in 2016, but since then she’s won five consecutive fights to improve her record to 9-5.
Unable to make ends meet as an up-and-coming MMA fighter, Ardelean started a saucy side hustle that saw her become a star on OnlyFans, TikTok, and Instagram.
However, her new career negatively impacted the dream she was chasing.
“I used to train at a gym when I started OnlyFans and I kept getting dirty looks,” Ardelean said during an interview with the Daily Star in January 2023.
READ MORE UFC 304
“I used to train at a gym when I started OnlyFans and I kept getting dirty looks.
“I even had a few messages from wives from guys in the gym saying, ‘You are such a whatever’ and calling me names and telling their husbands not to subscribe.
“I was just minding my own business, but the hate was there. Some of the hate was nasty and women in the gym were complaining about me.
“It was just embarrassing. It was like, ‘Shut up, I am not here to take your man. This is just my job and I’m not interfering with your job. It’s not my fault if your husband was on my OnlyFans or not.’”
3
3
“In reality, the only reason why, I was doing OnlyFans was to be able to pay for my training, nutritionist and gym equipment every day.”
Ultimately, Ardelean was forced out of the gym, but it worked in her favour as she’s now found a new team and become a world champion with South African promotion EFC.
Most read in MMA
She’s certainly come a long way since starting MMA to protect herself.
Ardelean added: “I used to be bullied because I was a bit chubby.
“So, I started doing MMA about 12 years ago because the guys were a bit aggressive, and I was scared somebody was going to hurt me.
“It is really weird because some of my bullies have been sliding into my DMs which is funny.”
Ardelean’s UFC 304 opponent is sponsored by Conor McGregor.
Read More on talkSPORT
Bannon suffered a decision defeat in her promotional debut last July but will be favoured to emerge victoriously from her clash with the social media star.
Whatever happens, Ardelean’s first UFC fight is sure to draw a lot of eyeballs to the company’s return to England.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
