The Top 10 Unforgettable UFC Octagon Girls
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The UFC is often associated with violence because mixed martial arts is one of the most physical fight sports around. But fans are attracted to the UFC not only because of the fights that happen on its events but because of the gorgeous and curvaceous ladies that walk around the cage with the Round number before the start of every round.
Since the UFC’s existence, there have been plenty of girls who have been lucky to get the opportunity to be an octagon girl. But for us fans who are luckier to have the opportunity to drool at them on fight night, there are 10 girls who stood out not just as the hottest but unforgettable as well.
Chrissy Blair
Photo: mmajunkie.com
If Chrissy Blair wasn’t that hot, she would have never had gotten the attention of the UFC’s owners. Attention? Yes, literally. It was in 2015 when then UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta tried to slip into Chrissy Blair’s DMs. Instead, Fertitta accidentally Tweeted his message for the bombshell. The result? One of the most controversial Tweets ever. Of course, it was immediately deleted but not fast enough for the internet I guess because this was crazy news back then. Here it is:
My lips are sealed. But that’s another story. This one’s about Ms. Blair. There isn’t much about Chrissy’s bio online except for that Fertitta fiasco but what we know is that she was born and raised in Florida. Blair graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida with a degree in Graphics Design and Fine Arts. She got into modelling after one of her friends reportedly dared her to join a contest, which she, of course, won. After that, she was signed by Major Model Management in New York and has worked with top brands like Maxim, Elegant Magazine, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Guess. Her first foray into MMA was with the Strikeforce Promotion but after it was purchased by the UFC in 2011, she became one of the staple octagon girls. Her online profile at UFC.com says that she likes guys who make her laugh and who do not try too hard to pick her up. Hmm, maybe Lorenzo was trying to be funny after all. What do you think?
Ali Sonoma
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Who could forget Ali Sonoma? Ali made her way to the Octagon after joining Maxim’s “UFC Octagon Girl Search” in 2006. She placed 2nd in the competition and got the job. Sonoma then made her first Octagon appearance at UFC 66 and appeared in several other events before leaving the promotion in 2007. Her stay was brief but she was memorable because at one time, she was engaged to Diego Sanchez, the winner of the first ever The Ultimate Fighter show. Sanchez went on to become one of the most exciting fighters the UFC has ever seen. Unfortunately, the two split in 2008 reportedly because Diego wanted to focus on his career. Bad move, really. Diego did get a title shot against B.J. Penn at UFC 107 but he lost by TKO but his career never really blossomed after the split. Diego was 19-2 at the end of 2008 and is 28-11 at the end of 2018.
As for Ali, she joined the show “Mole” on ABC and won $30,000. In 2009, she won first place in the first ever bikini competition at the Arnold Classic. She has since been working as a model and this included stints with Dreamgirls and Escante’s Lingerie catalogs while she also worked as a spokesperson for the brand Duzoxin. As for her bio, well Ali was born on March 9, 1985 but other than that, little is known of her too except perhaps that she is 5-7 and 125 pounds and her vital statistics are 36-25-36. And yes, she is a size 8.5 in shoes, size 4 for dresses and wears a cup C.
Logan Stanton
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Born on July 27, 1988 in Niceville Florida, Logan Stanton graduated from Niceville Senior High School. She joined the UFC after UFC President Dana White called up her modelling agency to meet with her. Of course, Logan knew who Dana was but she had no idea what he was up to but when they sat down (hopefully, they did just that) he informed her that they wanted to hire a third octagon girl to pair with resident octagon girls Edith Labelle and Arianny Celeste. Logan agreed and she made her first octagon appearance at UFC 92. A year later though, the UFC didn’t renew her one-year contract. That came as a surprise not only to her but to her legions of admirers. Supposedly, the reason behind her firing was her making comments about Josh Koscheck faking an eye injury during his UFC 106 bout against Anthony Johnson.
In 2012 though, Logan Stanton made a surprise return at UFC 149. Her second stint didn’t last long either. There were several reasons given why she never lasted long in the UFC and one of those was the fact that Logan didn’t have the typical ring girl body. She was curvaceous, yes but she never had the kind of bumpers that her contemporaries had. She wasn’t a bombshell for sure, but her appeal was different as she was the girl next door type who was the perfect compliment to Arianny at that time. Hmm. If there was something physically wrong about Logan Stanton, it was her famous right little finger which was “unique” (let’s put it that way). Watch:
Photo: 4GIFS.com
Okay so there’s something wrong with that finger. The rest of her though was fine as wine. Stanton now currently works as a model as she’s focused on her modelling career after she left the UFC.
Rachelle Leah
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Rachelle Leah is one of the most successful octagon girls of all-time. Born as Rachelle Leah San Filippo on October 18, 2009 in San Carlos, California, she began modelling professionally at the age of 18. A year ito her modelling career, the UFC contacted her and asked her to be one of their octagon girls. The rest as they say is history. Her first appearance was at UFC 48 and aside from her octagon duties, she made appearances and hosted several television shows including Spike's Sexiest NYC Bartenders, Spike TV's Women of Action, Casino Cinema, Inside the UFC, and The Ultimate Fighter. Rachelle Leah has also been featured in magazines such as Stuff, Vegas Magazine, AXL, Muscle and Fitness, Steppin’ Out, Men’s Fitness, Maxim and Playboy. In case you want to dig up her Playboy appearance, it’s in the November 2008 issue.
Despite taking a break from the UFC, she kept her ties with the organization as she hosted the UFC All Access show on Spike TV where she narrated the clips of previous UFC fights. In March 2010, she returned to the octagon at UFC 111. That same year, she made Maxim’s “Hot 100” at #36. Rachelle Leah was last seen on TV as one of the hosts of MMAAthletics, a weekly show on Fox Sports that featured former UFC legend Randy Couture and Fox Sportscaster Jay Glazer.
Amber Nichole Miller
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Amber Nichole Miller began modelling earlier than most- at the age of 5 when she was signed by the Mickey Mouse Club. She banked on that early experience to bag multiple magazine covers and features plus thousands of print and commercial opportunities. She found her way to the UFC and has the distinction of being the first ever octagon girl. It was also in the UFC where she met current boyfriend Tito Ortiz. In case you don’t know, Ortiz was the UFC’s first PPV superstar and his appeal could be likened to that of Conor McGregor. Well Amber Nichole Miller’s appeal caught Tito’s eye and the two have hit it off nicely but not immediately.
Tito was in a turbulent relationship with adult star Jenna Jameson and when it finally ended, he began dating Miller whom he remained friends with even after both left the UFC. After several months, she moved in to Huntington Beach to live with Ortiz had his three kids from his previous relationships. Currently, Amber Nichole models for LA Models, AC Talent Agency and Envy Model Management. She was last seen on TV as part of E! Television network’s WAGS TV series which aired until February 2018. She also owns a business called Savage Sunnies which sells sunglasses online.
Edith Labelle
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Born on June 30, 1982 in Canada, Edith Labelle was brought in to replace Ali Sonoma when the latter left the UFC. And although she had big shoes to fill, she had the big assets to do the job and became the first Canadian to become an Octagon girl. It wasn’t a surprise why she instantly became one of the most popular octagon girls at that time because at 38-25-38, she was hard not to notice. But after she became a hit, she quickly disappeared as well. Labelle was supposed to be on duty for UFC 100 which was then the biggest UFC event of all-time. However, she called in sick on the eve of the event and was fired almost immediately after UFC 100.
There were rumors that Labelle got herself wasted the night before the event after partying with her fellow octagon girls, friends and fighters. But she later denied that accusation and revealed that what happened to her was a case of food poisoning. Her dismissal was a loss for MMA fans but not for her. After her ouster from the UFC, she got plenty of fitness modeling and acting opportunities. She appeared in movies like Recon 23:The Gauda Prime Conspiracy in 2009 and Heroes of the North in 2010. She also models for various fashion houses and designers throughout Quebec.
Vanessa Hanson
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She was born on April 13, 1991 in Orange County, California. Vanessa is the youngest among three siblings and was always considered to be the “rebellious one”. However, she has been able to capitalize on her sultry look to thrive in modeling. She was discovered while studying to become a psychologist and took her first full-time modeling job in Los Angeles. She got her big break in 2011 when at the U.S. Open for surfing, she won a contest to be a “guest octagon girl”. The fans loved her and she was instantly hired as a regular.
Vanessa does modelling work for agencies like Tricia Brink Management in Los Angeles, CGM Models in Miami and Dulcedo Models in Toronto to name a few. She has previously worked with clients such as Maxim, GQ, FHM, Self Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Heineken, Joico, TJ MAXX, Tory Burch and Jaguar among others. She is also co-owner of a Yoga Studio called Olive Yoga in Long Beach, California.
Holly Madison
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UFC 100 was the UFC’s biggest event because it was, as the number says, the promotion’s 100th show. For that, the UFC assembled its best fight card ever (at that time) with Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir as main event and Georges St. Pierre vs Thiago Alves as co-main event. The iconic bout between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping also took place in this event as well as Mark Coleman vs Stephan Bonnar. With one big fight after another throughout the night, the UFC also tried to make the event even bigger by hiring a “guest octagon girl” for the event.
And so at UFC 100 regulars Arianny Celeste, Logan Stanton and Edith Labelle worked the event with a high profile honorary ring girl in Holly Madison. Madison had worked her way from Hooters to the Playboy Mansion and was part of the Girls Next Door reality show on E!. Although she was never a Playboy Playmate, Madison was one of the most popular figures in the Playboy Mansion particularly because she was considered as the #1 girl of Hugh Hefner until their separation in 2008.
Brittney Palmer
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Brittney Palmer is one of the most popular octagon girls of all-time. Why do we say so? For starters, she has 1.1M followers on Instagram, waiting for the next skimpily clad photo she posts. If you know who we are talking about, you’ll agree that she is a total knockout. She’s graced thousands of magazine covers, mostly fitness and men’s magazines. She is a former Playboy playmate and a regular fixture on the MAXIM annual Hot 100 list for years.
Only few people know that Palmer studied classic portraiture at UCLA and also attended Brentwood Art Center and today, she is an accomplished artist in her own right as she is selling her artwork for upwards of $25,000. Brittney’s paintings have been exhibited from Miami to Milan. The paintings focus on the pop culture and she has sketched bright depictions of celebrity icons like John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe and Bob Dylan. The portraits are painted in bright colors with the subjects depicted in a glamorous close-up style. In case you’re curious, some of the more popular figures who have bought her artwork are Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. In 2017, she also designed the UFC 213 Fighter weigh-in shirts for Reebok.
Arianny Celeste
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When we talk about the UFC octagon girls, the first name that comes to mind is Arianny Celeste. Born as Penelope Lopez Marquez on November 12, 1985, Celeste is the most veteran octagon girl right now, having made her UFC debut in 2006. That same year, she was named as “2006 Round Girl of the Year” by Fighters Only magazine and she also won four straight World MMA “Round Girl of the Year” awards from 2008-2011. Celeste was also Maxim’s Octagon Girl of the Year in 2010 and was on the magazine’s Hot 100 list from 2010-2014, ranking as high as 18 in 2013. Like other Octagon girls, she posed nude for Playboy and if you want to know which issue, it’s the November 2010 one which became Playboy’s top seller that year.
At 33, Arianny knows that even a goddess like her has her own clock. With age catching up, Celeste is planning to do more outside the octagon in 2019. In one of her recent interviews, she talked about her plan to release original music this year. According to her, the music genre would be pop but she’s planning to mix some country to her songs. Aside from her planned entry in the music business, Celeste is also busy with her business called “Girlfriend Box” which sells gift boxes containing date night outfits, make-up and other beauty products which husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends or lovers can buy for their girl.