LONDON – Shauna Bannon’s transition to MMA from a history in other combat sports has been perfect so far, but Saturday the stakes get turned up.
Bannon (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make her promotional debut in a women’s strawweight bout on the ESPN+ prelims at UFC Fight Night 224 against Bruna Brasil (8-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Bannon, a Dubliner who trains with under former UFC fighter Paddy Holohan, has a pair of Invicta wins on her resume ahead of her UFC debut, which will come in at The O2 in London.
The former kickboxing and taekwondo Olympic hopeful said the pressure that comes Saturday is what she thrives on.
“One hundred percent, there’s going to be pressure and it will be overwhelming and you feel that in every fight,” Bannon told MMA Junkie at Thursday’s media day in London. “I think if you don’t feel that, you’re not human. That’s what makes me perform. If I was to go out and not have those little bit of nerves and butterflies in my stomach, I wouldn’t perform my best. That’s all part of it, and that’s what makes me ‘Mama B.'”
Bannon said she also is buoyed by support of a fellow Irishman, Conor McGregor. Although he’s not part of her gym team, he’s part of Team Bannon, and that’s giving her confidence.
So, too, does the idea of winning for her son, Jayce – and the payoff for putting in as many full days as she can with him while also getting ready for her fight.
“It’s hectic, for sure,” Bannon said. “But if I come home from my morning session and I’m wrecked, exhausted, and I get to look at Jayce, he brightens up my day and he motivates me and he gets me going for my second session of the day. I think I have the best of both worlds. Some people work a 9-to-5 job and don’t get to see their kids for the full day.
“The morning, I drop Jayce, get my morning session in, come back, get to spend the whole afternoon and evening with him before my evening session – so I think I have the best of both worlds. It is super tiring and it’s great. I get to see him and his developments and each stage of him coming up.”
Check out Bannon’s full UFC Fight Night 224 media day interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
