Vanessa Demopoulos quit stripping ‘to focus full-time on MMA’ ahead of UFC 270 win

Vanessa Demopoulos made some big decisions ahead of her first UFC victory on Saturday.

After getting dropped by a big punch from Silvana Gomez Juarez during the preliminary card at UFC 270, Demopoulos was able to recover and lock in a tight armbar that forced a tap in the first round at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Speaking with reporters backstage following the win, the 33-year-old revealed that she quit her job as an exotic dancer ahead of her second octagon appearance.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that I was an exotic entertainer for 13 years,” Demopoulos said during her post-fight scrum. “I didn’t get the chance to say this on the [microphone after the win] 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, but that’s where that background comes from, that’s where those splits come from, and a lot of my jiu-jitsu actually comes from my expertise as a pole dancer.”

Demopoulos also discussed being able to recover from getting dropped early in the fight, premeditating the moment where she jumped into Joe Rogan’s arms after the victory, and more in the video above.