'Eye candy, soul food & a side of kick ass': MMA starlet Pearl Gonzalez posts inspiring message while awaiting next fight (PHOTOS)

Former UFC women's strawweight Pearl Gonzalez is keeping her legion of fans entertained on Instagram while maintaining her social distancing during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Gonzalez, who fought twice in the UFC back in 2017, was famously denied the opportunity to fight in her debut at UFC 210 after commission officials felt her breast implants were too unsafe.

Eventually, she was cleared to fight, but fell to defeat to Cynthia Calvillo. She was later released by the UFC after losing her second octagon bout to Poliana Botelho at UFC 216.

Since being released by the UFC, Gonzalez signed for all-female fight promotion Invicta Fighting Championships, where she has won four of six bouts.

But with the promotion currently not hosting fights due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gonzalez is stuck at home San Diego, California, where she posts regular updates to her 157,000 fans on Instagram.

Gonzalez was recently drawn into a heated online debate with UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes, who said some female fighters, including Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich, only kept their places on the UFC roster because of their looks, and criticized Gonzalez for using her Instagram to build her fame using her looks, rather than her fighting skills.

But after shutting down Blaydes' comments, Gonzalez has continued with her style of posting to the social media channel, with her most recent post, a shot of her performing a side kick in front of the San Diego Museum of Art, captioned, "Be eye candy, soul food & a side of kick ass. Happy Sunday morning #teamgonzalez"

Gonzalez's career record reads 10 wins, 5 losses, with half of her victories coming by way of submission.

And, after showing her ability to hold her own in the face of direct criticism, her fans will be even more keen to see her return to the cage in winning style once Invicta FC starts hosting events again.