MANCHESTER, England – Shauna Bannon beat Alice Ardelean with a split decision Saturday to open the preliminary card at UFC 304 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Take a look inside the fight with Bannon, who got back in the win column after a year on the sidelines.
Shauna Bannon def. Alice Ardelean
Result: Shauna Bannon def. Alice Ardelean via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27
Updated records: Bannon (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), Ardelean (9-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stats: Although Ardelean had more than a round’s worth of control time, Bannon dominated the striking with a 151-80 advantage.
Bannon on the fight's key moment
“My last spar last Tuesday, I spit my eye open, so I kind of had a different tactic, I suppose, going into this. I wasn’t really able to stand and bang, as such. That’s not really my style, anyway, but I knew what she was going to bring. I had to be careful because I didn’t want my eye to be cut open and fight to be stopped. I had to be super careful about that, and it did reopen slightly, but I didn’t feel that. I did feel like it took me a while to get into the fight.”
Bannon on being away from home
“Fight week was actually a break. My life is so hectic at home. I have a 3-year-old boy and I train full time, so it’s go, go, go. Literally every minute of my day is penciled in for something, so when I landed in Manchester, I kind of took a step away from the media so I didn’t have to do as much as normal this time. This fight week was literally a break for me. It was a bit of time for me. I was in my bedroom, on my own for most of it and it was lovely.”
Bannon on what she wants next
“(My cut) was only a little nitpick with two stitches. I heal fast, so I’d like to go again before Christmas. … I’d love to be in before the end of the year.”
To hear more from Bannon, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.
