One of Ireland’s greatest combat fighters cemented her place in stardom during the week by adding jiu jitsu to her list of her world champion titles, alongside her pre-existing kickboxing and MMA credentials, leaving a lingering question - who is Shauna Bannon ?
World champion in 3 sports 😭😭♥️♥️🌎🌎🌎🥇🥇🥇
KICKBOXING
MMA
JIU JITSU pic.twitter.com/xoEZY5o89z— Shauna Bannon (@ShaunaBannon5) December 8, 2023
What’s Shauna Bannon’s background
Shauna Bannon is a 30 year old combat sports fighter from Tallaght, Dublin.
Also known as Mama B, she became a single mother in 2020, and often credits her son, Jayce, as her motivation for continuing to excel in the sporting world.
She’s involved at the top level in MMA, kickboxing and jiu jitsu, and also holds two black belts.
My baby’s third birthday party 🥳 pic.twitter.com/NqKSxYuAmz
— Shauna Bannon (@ShaunaBannon5) November 18, 2023
Bannon attributes much of her inspiration behind getting into these types of sport to her dad, Martin, who’s an instructor at Tallaght Martial Arts.
Her sister Nicole is a fighter too, winning bronze in the Women’s Light Contact Kickboxing 60 kg category at the European Games in Poland back in June, and is looking to compete for Ireland at the Paris Olympics next summer.
On the 22nd of July 2023, she became the second Irish woman to fight in the UFC, following in the footsteps of one of her idols, Aisling ‘Ais The Bash’ Daly, who first did it in 2015.
2 July 2023; Nicole Bannon of Ireland with her bronze medal after her bout against Luna Mendy of Italy in the Women's Light Contact 60kg Final bout at the Myslenice Arena during the European Games Who is Shauna Bannon 's sister, Nicole? 2 July 2023; Nicole Bannon of Ireland with her bronze medal after her bout against Luna Mendy of Italy in the Women's Light Contact 60kg Final bout at the Myslenice Arena during the European Games 2023 in Krakow, Poland. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Who is Shauna Bannon in Jiu Jitsu?
Shauna Bannon triumphed at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation World Championships last week, winning in the women’s Master 1, purple, 147 lb (66kg) grade versus Jessica Claire Elizabeth Kleinbart, with Lauren Arisa Chidester and Marisa Celeste Mercier both finishing in third place.
She works with Holohan Martial Arts in this capacity under her trainer Paddy, and at this particular competition she had three matches, with two submissions and no points awarded against her.
Who is Shauna Bannon in kickboxing?
In kickboxing terms Shauna Bannon is a seven time World Association of Kickboxing Organisation (WAKO) champion and a six time European champion, although her participation within the sport has taken more of a back seat since she turned pro within MMA in April 2022.
She first took up kickboxing aged 4, with her dad taking her under his wing and showing Bannon and her sister the ropes.
At 8, she represented Ireland for the first time and so began a lifelong love affair with competitive sport.
Bannon has spoke in multiple interviews about her regimented and tough training schedule, often working on honing her skills six days a week, twice a day.
💥IRISH OPEN💥@LydiaDesDolles catches up with former kickboxing champions Dean Barry & @bannon_shauna to discuss transitioning into MMA & Taekwondo @Irish_Open_Int
Full interview ➡️ https://t.co/WysPHngbJz
@WAKO_Kickboxing ➡️ @maslinc ➡️ @ballsdotie #InCombatWeTrust pic.twitter.com/50B1NB9LY9— Fight Connect TV (@FightConnectTV) March 6, 2018
Who is Shauna Bannon in MMA?
Shauna Bannon started MMA in 2018 and having made a name for herself at amateur level, she was gearing up for her big break in 2020 when she learned she was pregnant.
Since then, she continues to prove that people can balance their sport alongside motherhood.
She was signed by the UFC in June of this year, and a month later she fought her debut fight of that kind against Brazilian Bruna Brasil in the O2 Arena in London.
𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧! ☘️
Watch Shauna Bannon's UFC debut live on Virgin Media Two from 5pm! 🇮🇪#UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/wqGJxxQNaW— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) July 22, 2023
Going in to the fight her record she was unbeaten in five, and although she fell short on that occasion after judges scored 30-27,29-28 and 29-28, she made a vow that she will return to the octagon.
“To have the worst performance on the night that means the most is the hardest pain in the world, but I will be back,” she said on Instagram.
“Thank you so so much to my team, friends, family and all my sponsors I am beyond grateful for each and everyone of you,” she added.
“The mama b era continues time to heal my heart have lots of cuddles with my boy and level up.”
