Shauna Bannon: 'I really believe that I am only getting started in my UFC career'

Dublin UFC fighter Shauna Bannon says her upcoming fight against Puja Tomer will show what she is truly capable of.

Bannon comes into the bout having won her first fight in the UFC in Manchester at UFC 304 last July, bouncing back from the first defeat of her career in 2023.

In that year, injuries and issues outside the cage made preparations less than ideal for the Dublin woman, who also had to undergo knee surgery.

Speaking to Breakingnews.ie, Bannon said the experience she went through demonstrated her ability to overcome adversity.

"It gave me the reassurance that I can get through anything," said Bannon.

"Not only was I overcoming an injury, I actually wasn't fully recovered going into that fight. I went to the PI a month after my fight and they told me my leg was 40 per cent weaker.

"The injury alone was challenging because it was affecting my daily training. I felt like I wasn't recovering, and I wasn't doing what I wanted to be doing in my daily sessions.

"What was going on in my personal life was super stressful. I think sometimes people forget fighters are human as well.

"Everyone has their daily struggles, and fighters do too. Dealing with that, the injury, and having a fight camp on top of it—and then coming out on top—it reassured me and proved to myself that I have one hundred per cent grit in my body and I know I can overcome anything."

Now fully fit and healthy ahead of her fight on March 22nd in London, Bannon hopes it will be the start of a busy year.

Since signing for the promotion in the summer of 2023, this will only be the third UFC fight for the 31-year-old.

Following difficult camps and injuries, Bannon believes she has not yet shown what she is capable of.

"I really