Akonne Wanliss ditched his career as a stripper to take up MMA full-time and is now fighting for the chance to win a massive €1million.
Wanliss is signed to European promotion Oktagon and competes in his next fight this Saturday against Mateusz Legierski in Czech Republic. A win would put Wanliss one step closer to winning the €1million (£850,000) prize that is up for grabs in the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament.
Fighting comes easy for Wanliss thanks to his past career as a stripper, something he found more nerve-wracking than stepping foot in the cage. “I stripped for 10 years and I think that’s one of the things that prepared me for crowds and for performing. You have to perform, these women are expecting big things from you," Wanliss told Mirror Fighting .
"You get any single fighter in the planet, stick them on a stage and tell them to strip in front of 10 woman and they wouldn’t be able to do it. They would s*** themselves, the pressure would be immense. You can’t come out with stiff hips and little todger, the pressure is high. At least with fighting, you are fighting another man and don’t have to worry about the crowd.
"I challenge any world class fighter to strip just in front of their women and see how much of a fool they feel." Wanliss is a big Star Wars fan and even walks out for his fights holding a lightsaber, living up to his nickname of 'J3DI'. In his days as a stripper, Wanliss used to receive bizarre requests from fans online.
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“I’ve had people asking me to kidnap them, beat them up and put them in a back of a van. Asking how much I would sell my pants and socks for, all of the random stuff that you hear online. People are just mad in love with you even though they don’t know you, it’s weird to say but it’s pretty normal," he added.
“When I come to fight, people ask me ‘How do you walk out holding a lightsaber?’ It’s because I’m used to it, so it definitely had its advantages. As a stripper I was always working weekends and nights, so I was able to train all day like a full-time athlete. I feel like it’s only benefitted my life and help put food on the table until this point."