An MMA star who was forced to move gyms after her OnlyFans page came to light has weighed in for her UFC debut in Manchester this weekend.
Alice Ardelean tipped the scales at 116lbs ahead of her fight against Shauna Bannon at UFC 304 on Saturday night, having taken the bout – her first for the promotion – at short notice, after racking up a record of 9-5-0 while featuring for lesser MMA organisations.
Bannon was initially slated to face Ravena Oliveira before she picked up an injury – and the choice of Ardelean as her replacement has been mocked by fans as “the worst signing ever”.
She claimed she was getting “dirty looks” in her Ronin MMA gym in Birmingham and also received abusive messages from partners of other fighters about her posts on the subscription site.
The 32-year-old said female users had sent her “nasty” messages “calling her names”, worried that their husbands and boyfriends would subscribe to her platform.
She told the Daily Star : ‘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. They were afraid their husbands would subscribe (so) I was forced to move gyms to avoid all this drama.
“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.’”
Ardelean claimed she was only using OnlyFans to make extra money on the side to aid her fighting career, having been unable to afford a nutritionist and gym equipment.
She would go on to become a world champion in with South African promotion EFC in the strawweight division. Ardelean has won her last five fights in a row, with her last defeat coming against Weili Zhang in May 2022.
Ardelean was labelled as “a disgrace” by UFC reporter Shawn Bitter after the announcement was made in a post on X.
“The UFC signing Alice Ardelean is a disgrace to the promotion,” he said. “Probably the worst signing ever and I’m not joking. Ardelean isn’t a fighter, she’s a TikTok star. Ardelean has a terrible 9-7 record. 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.”
She will be appearing on an epic card at UFC 304, with Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad topping the bill. Tom Aspinall against Curtis Blaydes is the co-main, while fans will also be treated to Bobby “King” Green against Paddy Pimblett.
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