Athletes
Alice Ardelean Is Planning Her Big Move
With Ambitions Of Progressing Up The Strawweight Ladder And A Future Life In The United States, Alice Ardelean Has A Lot On Her To-do List Heading Into 2026.
Alice Ardelean remains close to her Romanian roots but plans on setting up a new life for herself several thousand miles away from home.
Ardelean already splits her time between Europe and the United States, thanks to her links with the Fusion Xcel Performance gym in Orlando, Florida, and her hopes are to eventually make the move Stateside full-time.
"Next year, I want to move to the US," Ardelean told UFC.com ahead of her upcoming bout at UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs Onama. "That's a new thing that I want to do. I want to move to the US, in Orlando, where I train right now at Fusion, and go from there. Sharpen up my ground, because it's clear, the tape says it all, my ground is not my best thing. But that's my plan – to move to the US, train and fight."
That desire to fight has taken Ardelean from the regional scene in Europe, via a stint in South Africa, to the UFC, where she has competed three times so far.
Ardelean's first two outings ended in defeat: a split decision after stepping in on short-notice to face Shauna Bannon at UFC 304, then, the following October, she was edged out again on the scorecards against Melissa Martinez.
But Ardelean returned to action in May this year and delivered her breakthrough performance as she defeated Rayanne dos Santos on the scorecards at the UFC APEX to claim her first UFC victory. She even bagged a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus in the process.
"I felt great. I mean, obviously every fighter's dream is to get to the UFC and to win. Obviously, that felt unreal," she admitted. “I worked hard that camp. I worked even on my mental part, which I hadn't worked before in my life. So I think that bit changed. I covered every point, everything. So I had the result I wanted, plus I had the bonus as well – yeah, it was fight of the night. Rayanne was amazing also, you know, to make one great fight.”
With dreams of relocating to Florida full-time, that bonus could have been very helpful in building towards making that move. But Ardelean had a more pressing priority in mind for her bonus check – her family.
“First thing, I just sent money home– that's what Balkans people do!” she smiled. “I just send money home to my uncles, to my grandpa, to my grandma.”
In addition to the additional mark in her win column, Ardelean’s victory gave her something extra – it gave her the confidence that comes with being a winner in the UFC. However, the euphoria of the victory was quickly replaced by the knowledge that she had to get straight back to work.
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs Onama
“(It meant) a lot,” she admitted. “After my last win, I was very happy. But then, when I got back to Orlando, it was announced that I'm gonna have another fight, and that (thought) was gone. That was it. That was in the past. Now I'm going to focus on my next one.
“I had an even tougher fight camp. For some reason, I don't know why I felt so exhausted so many times, but like I said, I left everything behind. I put everything into it. I covered all the points, and the result will be the same because I just put (in) even more effort.”
Ardelean’s next test comes in the form of Mexico’s Montserrat Conejo Ruiz, who is looking to snap a 3-fight skid and claim her second UFC win. Ardelean is a fan of “Conejo’s” fighting style and is excited to share the Octagon with someone she thinks will bring the best out in her.
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“You know what? I've been following her for years, before I even got to the UFC,” she said. “I think she's cool. I like her. I like her fighting style, also. Hopefully we're gonna get together and (make) a super nice fight for the public. Because there's a lot of hate going on, like, ‘Oh, you're boring. Oh…’ You know.
“I just hope the fight’s gonna go and we’re gonna perform our at our best. But yeah, I think she's a cool chick. I watched few of her fights. And like I said, I've been following her for quite a while.”
Ardelean said her next career goal is simply to stick around in the UFC and continue her development, but in terms of the matchup ahead of her this weekend, her goal is simply to deliver the same performance she served up last time, with a ton of heart and commitment, as she looks to claim back-to-back victories in the UFC for the first time.
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“I was actually thinking about it a few days ago. I was thinking about my past fight and how it felt getting punched, punching back, all of that grit,” she said.
“I’m planning to do the same – I think the fight's gonna go the same. I'm gonna make it a dog fight. I think she's gonna make it too, because she's got that in her. I've seen some (of her) fights. So I hope it's gonna be on and off, in and out.”
UFC Fight Night: Garcia vs Onama took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas on November 1, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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