In the AldanaOnAir Jacob Cullen interview, the New York and New Jersey-based creator told Cullen how bartending led her to MMA, why she prefers interviewing local fighters to chasing UFC names, and why she opposes women competing professionally. She also discussed her media work for Flex Fight Series and the stronger response she gets to Spanish-language content.

How did AldanaOnAir start making MMA content?

AldanaOnAir began making MMA content after a Bad Bunny lyric prompted her to look up Khabib Nurmagomedov and her bartending jobs gave her regular chances to watch UFC fights. She had already posted about soccer, but repeated UFC posts led friends to suggest a separate MMA account.

Originally from Argentina and raised between New Jersey and New York, she said talking about soccer felt ordinary among Argentinians. In the United States, she found that discussing the Premier League or La Liga drew a different response. She sometimes made soccer videos, though she said some were taken down over copyright.

She had tried Muay Thai before becoming a regular MMA viewer, but broke her ankle and decided training was not for her. At a sports bar that showed UFC pay-per-views, she found herself watching fights even while working. After creating an MMA account, she contacted local New York promotions and offered to interview fighters for free. She paid a camera operator herself and spoke to fighters after their bouts, initially without a firm plan.

That work led to a media role with Flex Fight Series. She said the promotion’s Spanish-language airing arrangement for Latin America brought her into contact with a team from Argentina, and she began making more content in Spanish, including commentary. Her Spanish-language posts, she said, perform much better than her English-language work.

What did AldanaOnAir say about New York MMA and Florida fighters?

AldanaOnAir said her work with Flex Fight Series has introduced her to fighters arriving in New York from other regions, although she has not traveled enough to offer a broad comparison of MMA scenes. Two Florida fighters stood out in her account: an expressive main-event winner called Rambo and Brock Waldie, whose trip to a fight in Costa Rica was disrupted by an arrest.

Rambo at Madison Square Garden

Flex Fight Series held an event in a smaller theater at Madison Square Garden. AldanaOnAir said Rambo, brought in from Florida, did not realize he was the main event until she asked him about it. He faced a local fighter and won after sustained ground-and-pound, according to her account.

His behavior outside the fight also made him memorable to interview. She described him walking away from the camera, taking her microphone and eating doughnuts after weigh-ins. She said those moments made for videos that viewers shared and discussed.

Brock Waldie’s trip to Costa Rica

AldanaOnAir also recounted a story Brock Waldie told her about traveling for his professional debut. According to her account, Waldie was arrested in Atlanta over a warrant connected to an old traffic ticket while on his way to Costa Rica. She said he kept cutting weight in jail, was released, flew out with his girlfriend, made weight after arriving and won the following day.

She had recently visited Miami for RAF, but said fighters from elsewhere also flew in for that event. Rather than claim firsthand knowledge of every regional scene, she said she asks visiting fighters what their home regions are like.

How does AldanaOnAir approach video editing and fighter stories?

AldanaOnAir wants to make more videos inside gyms, but the cost of missing bartending shifts and hiring camera help limits what she can shoot. She is considering filming at a friend’s gym with her iPhone before buying a camera, while using her nursing studies to develop stories about health, culture and athletes’ lives.

Saturday events compete with one of her busiest workdays. She has used a camera operator at events but cannot bring one to every gym. After discussing phone filming with Cullen, she said she would hold off on buying a camera and try shooting and editing more herself.

She has tested OpusClip for turning longer videos into shorter captioned clips. It saves time finding segments, she said, but she still needs to tighten the cuts. Another editing tool produced transitions for footage of her boyfriend wrestling, yet she had to adjust its framing and music timing manually. She planned to try CapCut on her computer.

Her interest extends beyond editing fight footage. AldanaOnAir said she does not train or consider herself a technical MMA analyst. She would rather tell stories such as how a fighter’s mother influenced their training, or examine medical clearance and stoppages through the perspective of a nursing student.

Why does AldanaOnAir prefer interviewing amateur fighters?

AldanaOnAir said a local amateur or professional fighter can be as compelling to interview as a UFC fighter. She does not feel pressure to pursue famous names and finds that people still building their careers often bring personality and stories to a post-fight conversation.

At a Flex Fight Series event, she said the two fights that held the crowd’s attention most were amateur bouts. For her, that interest supports giving local fighters serious coverage rather than treating an interview as valuable only when the athlete is widely known.

Ryan Sip of Vicious and an Argentine connection

She also discussed Ryan Sip of Vicious, an Argentine fighter whose family knows hers. After he won at the Madison Square Garden event, he held up a shirt carrying a political message connected to Argentina. AldanaOnAir said talking with him about the shirt made their post-fight interview meaningful to her and to the Argentine production team.

Her enthusiasm for those conversations contrasts with her view of celebrity in MMA. She said Argentina’s soccer team, and especially Lionel Messi, would provoke a stronger personal reaction from her than meeting a famous MMA fighter.

What did AldanaOnAir say about Kevin Velos and women in MMA?

AldanaOnAir said Kevin Velos is the fighter she most wants to interview and picked him to beat Aljo, though she did not expect a dominant knockout. The conversation then turned to women’s MMA, where she stated her opposition to women competing professionally and criticized individual fighters’ presentation and performances.

Kevin Velos against Aljo

She said Velos has seen her Instagram posts about him and that she has sent him messages seeking an interview. Her interest is not solely because he is Argentine: she said she rates him as a fighter. She called the matchup with Aljo a significant test and expressed hope that Velos would win.

Her position on women’s professional fights

AldanaOnAir described her view as controversial. She said she supports women training but does not want to watch them get hurt in professional fights. AldanaOnAir put her position plainly:

I think it's a man sport

She also criticized Tracy Cortez’s recent performance and her promotion of OnlyFans. Those assessments were AldanaOnAir’s opinions, not an account of Cortez’s ability or of women fighters as a group.

What does AldanaOnAir eat after a workout?

AldanaOnAir said she and her boyfriend routinely get Chipotle Mexican Grill after their Sunday workouts: she does Pilates, while he wrestles. Her usual bowl includes white rice, black beans and sofritas, along with toppings such as guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes.

She said she was vegan for 10 years and still orders sofritas despite no longer being vegan. She once gave her boyfriend some without first telling him what it was; he liked the taste, she said, before learning it was the plant-based option.

Who is AldanaOnAir?

AldanaOnAir is a New York and New Jersey-based media creator who covers combat sports, soccer and other subjects in English and Spanish. She is from Argentina and makes interview and video content about MMA while studying nursing.

Jacob Cullen

AldanaOnAir Jacob Cullen interview on MMA media...