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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

Stripper-turned-UFC contender recreates famous celebration with legend after latest win

Vanessa Demopoulos leapt into the arms of Michael Bisping to recreate her viral celebration after a latest win in Las Vegas.

Demopoulos has become a high-profile star in the UFC having shared the famous story of her transition from a stripper into a strawweight title contender. She previously went viral after diving into the shocked arms of analyst Joe Rogan in joy after defeating Silvana Gomez Juarez at UFC 270.

The American star recorded another victory this weekend defeating Jinh Yu Frey by narrow split decision in 'Sin City'. After the decision was announced, UFC legend Bisping came into the cage to get a post-fight interview with the celebrating star. She leapt into the unsuspecting arms of Bisping who held her for a few seconds while looking clearly shocked. The post-fight interview was conducted with Bisping putting her down just moments after.

Demoupolos went on to jokingly compare her experiences of being held by Rogan and Bisping, stating at the post-fight press conference: “Joe was way better! Even though both of them I forced it upon them, neither of them had an option. I kind of knew Bisping wasn’t going to hold me up, it’s a part of his personality."

The former UFC champion later took to social media to complain about the review from Demoupolos, tweeting: “Never been so offended.” Demoupolos moved to a record of 7-4 in her MMA career with the victory, and has begun a two-fight win streak with the UFC following her decision to turn full-time.

Prior to that decision, Demoupolos worked as a stripper for almost 13 years before being forced to ditch her role in pursuit of a fighting career. Before her recent victory, Demoupolos explained the struggles of having to balance her time to get the best from her time in the UFC.

What did you make of Vanessa Demoupolos' latest victory? Let us know in the comments section below

"You wanna talk about full blown calisthenics and cardio, it was pure insanity," Demoupolos told Mirror Fighting . "I've never not trained three or four times a day since I was 21-years-old. It was super difficult to go and give it my all in the gym, go home to recalibrate, then go to work an emotionally and physically taxing job. I was happy to go work every day, it was fulfilling. I was happy to go train and sleep on the mats in between my training sessions, it's weird to say that but it's exactly how I felt."

Demoupolos' profile went through the roof after experiencing the moment with Rogan at her previous submission victory. She admitted that the celebration was a turning point in her career, having received more attention than ever before. "I feel like everyone has that internal reaction, but I'm just very vocal about it," she added.

"I was like 'oh my god! It's Joe Rogan.' It was just a super cool moment, I don't know him personally but I always assumed he was a pretty cool guy."

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