UFC 270 winner quit job as a stripper eight weeks ago, says pole dancing helped her BJJ

Many fighters have a unique backstory about their life pre-competition. In the case of UFC strawweight Vanessa Demopoulos, it’s leaving her job as an…

By: Milan Ordoñez | 1 year ago
UFC 270 winner quit job as a stripper eight weeks ago, says pole dancing helped her BJJ
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Many fighters have a unique backstory about their life pre-competition. In the case of UFC strawweight Vanessa Demopoulos, it’s leaving her job as an exotic entertainer to put her 100% focus on fighting.

What makes this story noteworthy, however, is that the career shift just happened a little over a month ago. The 33-year-old former LFA champion and Dana White Contender Series alum talked about it during her UFC 270 post-fight scrum.

“I don’t think it’s a secret, I was an exotic entertainer for 13 years,” Demopoulos told the media. “And I didn’t actually say it on the mic, but I’d like to say it right now: I walked away from being a stripper to continue this camp.

“I quit dancing about six to eight weeks ago just so I could focus full-time on MMA, take this extremely seriously in the gym every single day.”

Demopoulos, who is on a minimum $12K/12K contract, won her UFC 270 prelim fight against Silvana Gómez Juárez via armbar from the back after getting knocked down by a right hand. She credited that win to her background as a pole dancer and what she referred to as her “stripper guard.”

“A lot of my jiu-jitsu actually comes from my expertise as a pole dancer,” she said.

With the win, Demopoulos now improves to a record of 6-4.

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Milan Ordoñez
Milan Ordoñez

Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments.

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