Ardelean’s first two outings ended in defeat: a split decision after stepping in on short-notice to face Shauna Bannon at UFC 304, then, the following October, she was edged out again on the scorecards against Melissa Martinez.
But Ardelean returned to action in May this year and delivered her breakthrough performance as she defeated Rayanne dos Santos on the scorecards at the UFC APEX to claim her first UFC victory. She even bagged a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus in the process.
“I felt great. I mean, obviously every fighter’s dream is to get to the UFC and to win. Obviously, that felt unreal,” she admitted. “I worked hard that camp. I worked even on my mental part, which I hadn’t worked before in my life. So I think that bit changed. I covered every point, everything. So I had the result I wanted, plus I had the bonus as well – yeah, it was fight of the night. Rayanne was amazing also, you know, to make one great fight.”
With dreams of relocating to Florida full-time, that bonus could have been very helpful in building towards making that move. But Ardelean had a more pressing priority in mind for her bonus check – her family.
Subscribe to my channel
