Kicking off UFC 304 in Manchester on Saturday, Irish strawweight and Invicta FC alum Shauna Bannon welcomed newcomer Alice Ardelean to the octagon.
The fight may have raised eyebrows among fans given the relative inexperience of both fighters; Bannon was entering off a loss in her promotional debut, while Ardelean was best known for OnlyFans, and allegedly being “kicked out” of gyms due to “jealous wives.”
To Alice Ardelean’s credit, she had shared the cage with UFC stars Weili Zhang and Diana Belbita, but had lost to both.
Ardelean found success with her wrestling in the opening frame at UFC 304, securing a takedown despite repeated fence grabs (and warning from the ref) by Bannon. With the fight down, however, Ardelean had to contend with triangle and arm-bar attempts, though she finished the round on top.
Round two opened with a bit of back-and-forth on the feet, with both ladies throwing and landing a few blows. Bannon circled on the outside, with Ardelean walking her down; when they came together, a scramble ensued off a hip throw, only for the pair to remain standing. Two minutes in, and Bannon landed a cracking combination, which lead Ardelean to go back to her wrestling, grabbing a body lock from the back. Bannon worked to the fence and reversed, staying upright for the time being. After some positional grappling, Ardelean finally took the fight down, sitting in side control with Bannon in a headlock.
WHAT A COMBO BY BANNON 👊#UFC304 pic.twitter.com/JPNi06vGRW
— UFC (@ufc) July 27, 2024
The third frame opened with Shauna Bannon firing kicks, looking the fresher of the two fighters. The final frame saw far more standup, with Ardelean, who took the fight on short notice, perhaps too gassed to land a takedown. Bannon’s striking and movement were coming on; Ardelean got a brief break with 45 seconds remaining, as the ref halted the action to trim some loose glove tape. It was Bannon, however, capitalizing, landing a push kick on the restart.
Despite the last two rounds being fairly clear for Bannon, one judge saw the fight for Ardelean, resulting in a split decision. With a third judge giving a 30-27 to Bannon, scores were essentially all over the map.
Official Result: Shauna Bannon def. Alice Ardelean by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
