Abu Dhabi will soon see a grand event that is much awaited by MMA fans – a UFC tournament with Russian star Khabib Nurmagomedov scheduled to partake. The organisers of the 7 September event have already stated that they are not going to adapt traditional, long-standing MMA standards and entourage, including the specially selected ring girls to carry placards with round numbers on to the ring, to the Muslim culture of the hosting country – and the fans seem to already be prepared to rejoice.
The commercial success of a sporting event of this scale is regarded as not only being due to the boxing or MMA stars’ performance, but also the bombshell appearance of the so-called ring, or octagon, girls. Notably, the dress code, although it is largely determined by the bikini (let’s put it that way) standards of the MMA titan UFC, varies from country to country, and can even stipulate wearing evening dresses, like at events organised by the Russian boxing promoter Absolute Championship Akhmat. Alternatively, it can even be smart suits.
Whatever the debate about the ring girls’ outfits, or if they should appear at all at the sporting venue boasting their usually extraordinary physique while the tournament’s focus is men fighting, quite a few names have already entered history, in part thanks to social media.
- Ariyanny Celeste, who joined the UFC in 2006, is one of them. A proud owner of a 3.2 million-strong online fan base, she shot to fame by receiving the Octagon Girl of the Year award for six consecutive years.
- Brittney Palmer is another bombshell UFC pick, who was awarded Ringcard Girl of the Year for 2012 at the World MMA Awards and reaffirmed her status in 2013. She is also a charity worker and owner of a personal clothes line, as well as a keen art enthusiast, with her paintings available at an Internet store.
- Singer, actress, and TV personality Carly Baker has meanwhile become the first European to appear at UFC tournaments. A formidable social media influencer, she was previously a pageant contestant in the Miss Great Britain competition.
- Another famed ring girl is Brazilian model Jhenny Andrade, who currently has a following of over a half a million on Instagram. In addition to her aforementioned career, the platinum blonde stunner is also an accomplished martial artist, specialising in Muay Thai, The Inquisitr reported.
- Angelika Anderson (Ermolenko) is a well-known Russian octagon girl who has been employed by the company M-1 Global since 2013, and has appeared in a number of high-profile tournaments.
The first mention of bikini-clad girls employed during MMA or boxing championships dates back to 1965, when the well-known US Ring Magazine posted a picture of a Las Vegas event where the plaque with the round number was being raised by an attractive girl wearing a bikini who entered the ring to the applause of the largely male audience.
The octagon girls, whose royalties reportedly amount to about 30,000 dollars per year in Europe and the US, are sometimes even claimed to steal the limelight from the competing athletes at major events.