ALICE ARDELEAN built a massive following on social media as she cut her teeth outside of the UFC.
But it wasn’t the sole reason she got the call to finally compete in mixed martial arts’ premier promotion at UFC 304 this past July.
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The Romanian rattled off a six-fight win streak – in which she claimed two world titles – before reaching the promised land of UFC.
But detractors and trolls deemed her not worthy of a spot in the promotion after her split decision defeat to Shauna Bannon in a fight many experts believe she won.
The Fearless MMA standout was branded by some as nothing more than a “social media and OnlyFans star,” despite her having won titles outside of the UFC.
Ardelean happily embraces being a jack of all trades and how she’s built her following, although she wants fans to know she’s much more than meets the social media eye.
“I’m known for what I am,” she told SunSport. “I am doing social media, I’m doing fighting, I’m shaking my ass. I’m I am what I am.
“Call me whatever you want or whatever you think I am. I don’t care. I know what I am.
“I’m everything, you know. I don’t care.
“I’m not gonna say, ‘Oh, yeah, I want people to know me for the fight.’ But I’m not just the fighter.
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“I started with fighting like 14 years ago. And, I worked hard to get to where I am.
“But at the same time on the side, I did social media and I did OnlyFans and I did all of that. I don’t care.
“People can call me whatever. Yeah, I’m a model. Call me a model as well. Yeah, I’m a fighter as well.
“Yeah, I’m a TikToker as well. All, all of that, like I don’t mind, I don’t mind”
Having a massive social media following opens people up to comments from the dregs of society, which Ardelean has become an expert at filtering out.
She said: “I choose to waste my energy on better things than thinking [about what people say].
“I don’t even know any random guy or girl on the internet that said I’m a model would think.
“Because if in their eyes I’m a model, then that’s what I am. Okay, cool. Move on with your life.
“I’m just gonna go to fight.
“And after the fight, I’m gonna post on TikTok and after the TikTok, I’m gonna go post a video to my OnlyFans fans and this is me.”
Ardelean will be hoping to share a series of celebratory and hilarious post-fight social media posts after her UFC Vegas 99 showdown with Melissa Martinez early on Sunday morning.
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But unlike her Manchester melee with Bannon, she’ll have the benefit of a full training camp behind her for her Sin City showdown with the former LFA star.
She said: “I would say this is my real UFC debut in that sense. Because I’m super fit [and] my weight’s low.
“I also came to the States state for the past for the last part of my camp to get used to the food, heat and all of that.
“I had a great team here in Orlando at Fusion X-Cel. Julian Williams, as head coach, and everybody there was helping me so much.
“I’m super confident in this time [around].”
On her match-up with the returning Martinez – who hasn’t fought in over two years – Ardelean said: ” She’s a great striker, I’m not gonna lie.
“She’s a great striker. I think it’s a great matchup as well. Hopefully, we’re gonna have a super nice fight.”
Alice Ardelean takes on Melissa Martinez at UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: HERNANDEZ VS PEREIRA on Saturday, October 19.
To watch the fight please tune in to TNT Sports. TNT Sports is available through its streaming destination discovery+ and across all major TV platforms. See here for more information.