I’m a former male stripper-turned MMA star… fans still DM me begging to buy my old socks and fight gear
MMA star Akonne Wanliss is now retired as a top male stripper – but it does not stop fans from begging for his used socks and fight gear.
Wanliss toured the continent as an on-stage performer before giving it up last year to focus solely on his career in the cage.
He is signed to European promotion Oktagon MMA and has a record of 7-2 in the cage, having started the sport aged 23.
But Wanliss claimed taking his kit off in front of screaming women is a harder night’s work than fighting in the cage.
And he warned rivals to write him off at their own peril while facing the embarrassment of losing to a stripper.
He told SunSport: “They always say, ‘You’re just a stripper.’
“I guarantee you, literally 99 per cent of all fighters out there could never jump on stage and strip, they’d crumble.
“That’s way scarier than fighting. When they say that stuff, it just shows a lack of confidence they have.
“Underestimate me all you want. They’re probably looking at me like a joke but you don’t want to lose to a joke.
“So if you want to keep looking at me as just a joke or just a stripper, or just a model, then that’s great, thank you. Do you want to lose to a stripper?”
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Wanliss, who also has a racy OnlyFans account, still gets bombarded with wild requests from fans and followers.
And the fighter – in a relationship with OnlyFans star-turned influencer boxer Daniella Hemsley – even has offers to buy his used laundry.
He said: “I’ve retired from stripping now but when I was deep into it, every weekend after the shows, man it was crazy. I couldn’t keep up.
“I’ve opened quite a few and seen some mad requests. I still get DMs like that now, being a fighter. I think fighters get that a lot.
“Like, ‘The stuff you train in, can I have it?’ Or, ‘I’ll pay you for your socks.’
“I put something up the other day, I had a hole in my sock and said, ‘I’m selling my sock.’
“I kid you not, I had 15 different DMs asking to buy them, some were serious, some were not, but it’s crazy.”
Wanliss was due to return on Sahil Siraj on March 2 but the bout was scrapped after a brawl a day beforehand involving the two camps.
The grudge bout has been rescheduled to April 20 in Wanliss’ hometown of Birmingham.
It marks the first in a four-fight tournament where 16 lightweight contenders battle it out for a £285,000 cash prize.
And Wanliss said: “If you look at my performances and the way that I fight, the victories that I’ve gathered, then you can’t deny me.
“And after this tournament, you definitely can’t deny me.”