Strawweights look for their first UFC win in this pairing.
Ireland’s Bannon was worth the flier when the UFC picked her up in
2023, though “Mama B” was obviously raw as a mixed martial artist.
Only about 15 months into her professional mixed martial arts
career at the time, Bannon’s a striker by background who’s more
than willing to bite down and go to war. However, her UFC debut
against Bruna
Brasil didn’t go particularly well, as the Brazilian’s size and
ability to grind Bannon out raised some concerns that she might
just wind up hitting a physical ceiling with this step up in
competition. The next litmus test comes against a Romanian newcomer
in Ardelean, who steps up on about two weeks’ notice. More famous
for her exploits outside of the cage, Ardelean’s in a similar spot
as someone making up for a lack of explosive athleticism with
aggression. The beginning of her professional career was fairly
rough. Countrywomen Diana
Belbita and Cristina
Stanciu beat Ardelean on their way to the UFC, and she somehow
found herself opposite Weili Zhang
in 2016. With that said, she has at least turned the corner in
recent years, albeit against a weak level of competition.
Ardelean’s wrestling might find her some success here, but Bannon
should be able to outpace her over three rounds. The pick is Bannon
via decision.
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