UFC star Vanessa Demopoulos used her MMA skills to choke out unruly customers during her days as a stripper.

‘Lil Monster’ has won five of her past six fights ahead of a strawweight clash with Jaqueline Amorim at UFC Vegas 97 on Saturday night.

Demopoulos has become a fan favourite in recent years

During her recent run of good form, Demopoulos has won a legion of new fans with her excitable personality and signature celebration.

Demopoulos has gone viral by jumping into the arms of UFC commentators Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping before post-fight interviews.

However, it’s been a long road to get to this point for the 35-year-old who only quit stripping to focus fully on achieving her goals in 2022.

“I’ve always been a tough cookie,” Demopoulos told talkSPORT.com in May 2023.

“I used to fight a lot when I was in school and I actually got kicked out of a lot of schools for fighting when I was young.

“When I turned 18, I started dancing as a stripper, as a pole dancer, and then someone saw me in the club and said, ‘If you put that same skill that you put towards pole dancing into fighting, you might do something with it.’

“So, I was like, ‘Cool. Teach me how to fight.’ That was when I was 21 years old, and I never looked back. I loved it!

While juggling the two careers wasn’t always easy, Demopoulos claims her MMA skills came in handy when unsuspecting customers tried to steal from her.

She added with a chuckle: “I’ve had to choke a couple of guys unconscious at work, you know.”

“They would try to run off on me without paying me or something and didn’t know they were messing with the wrong chick. They’d end up waking up and politely giving me my money.

She is known for her signature celebration

As well as her long career as an exotic dancer

“That was really cool. So, I doubled up as a bouncer at work. The bouncers said they didn’t have to worry about me because I was gonna handle my business.”

Demopoulos took a major risk leaving behind a lucrative career to focus on MMA, but it’s paid off and now she’s hoping to climb the 115lb division, which is currently reigned over by Weili Zhang.

“This is my dream and I get to chase them now. I didn’t have the financial means at the time when I walked away and I was really scared, honestly,” Demopoulos said.

“I believed in myself, and I trusted my skillset. I trusted myself and I knew that I was going to be able to make something of this. I didn’t want to split my effort anymore.

“One day I will be the champion and I’m working towards that. I know that in my heart, in my soul. I work for that every single day. This is all I think about.”

Demopoulos’ next opponent boasts an 8-1 record in the sport.

Amorim suffered a decision defeat in her April 2023 UFC debut, but since then she’s picked up impressive stoppage wins against Cory McKenna and Montserrat Conejo Ruiz.