Shauna Bannon To Face Bruna Brasil In UFC Debut

Following reports, via UFC roster watch, confirmed by MMA Junkie, yesterday that Shauna Bannon has signed for the UFC, we can now reveal her opponent.

The UFC confirmed to SevereMMA that Bannon will be fighting Bruna Brasil on 22nd July 2023 at The O2, London.

It’s been a whirlwind few years for the 2021 SevereMMA amateur of the year. Having debuted as an amateur in 2019, Bannon became a mother in 2020 before returning as “Mama B” and going 5-0 as an amatuer in 2021 to finish off her stint in the non-paid ranks. 

Bannon then fought twice in as many months on Irish promotion Cage Legacy before deciding to sign with Invicta, as many promotions looked for her signature. Another fight for Cage Legacy was sandwiched between two extremely impressive Invicta FC wins which put Bannon as seemingly the #1 contender for the strawweight title held by fellow Irishwoman, Danni McCormack. But, the UFC call came first and Bruna Brasil will instead be the opponent. 

Brasil is 8-3-1 in her career and fights out of Maringa, Parana, Brazil. In her early career she had wins in Shooto Brazil and LFA before beating Marnic Mann on the Contender Series to earn a spot in the UFC. So far, Brasil has had one UFC outing – losing to Denise Gomes in April of this year. 

For Bannon, though, it’s an historic signature as she becomes the 2nd Irishwoman after Aisling Daly to compete in the UFC while also being the first Irish UFC fighter to get to the UFC under the tutelage of another former Irish UFC fighter, in Paddy Holohan. 

.@PaddyHolohanMMA becomes the first Irish man to compete in and coach someone to the UFC congrats to him and congrats to @ShaunaBannon5 and everyone at H.M.A great work guys

— chris fields (@chrisfieldsmma) June 7, 2023