UFC Octagon Girls Who Dated MMA Stars
What warm bodied creature doesn’t know the Octagon girls?
These heavenly bodies are what makes the UFC events go round. From standing in the background during the weigh-ins to parading the round number during actual fights, these gorgeous babes are a fixture in any UFC event.
Pair an Octagon girl with a UFC fighter in real life and you literally have sparks flying all over. We’ve heard stories here and there about some of these gorgeous ladies dating the testosterone-fueled hunks of the sport. Some were only rumors though. But let’s stick to the facts.
Arianny Celeste
Photo:mmajunkie.com
Arianny Celeste is the universally recognized hottest Octagon girl of All-Time so you’ve got to think that she can get any man she wants. You’ve got to think that she’s dated the biggest names in the business and the coolest dudes in the promotion. But surprise, surprise and no offense meant, this Octagon goddess once upon a time dated welterweight Josh Burkman.
Photo mmamania.com
The story began during Burkman’s 2007 bout with Chad Reiner. At one point during the fight, Burkman was trapped in a rear naked choke and while fighting off the submission, his eyes gazed through the octagon and into the audience. He says he saw Celeste seated at ringside and their eyes met. Burkman then said to himself:
"I saw her and I thought to myself, 'I can't let myself get choked out in front of her. I had to figure something to do.”
He did. After freeing himself from the choke, Burkman went on to win by unanimous decision. Two weeks later, Burkman and Celeste saw each other in Las Vegas. Recalling the moment their eyes met during that fight, Burkman mustered enough courage to ask her out. They became an item and dated for several months before their relationship ended.
That’s not it for Arianny Celeste’s story though. In 2010, Celeste found herself dating another UFC fighter again in Tiki Ghosn.
Photo:twitter.com
Ghosn only fought four times under the UFC banner but in 2009, he was an assistant coach for Rampage Jackson in The Ultimate Fighter Season 10. That was where he perhaps caught the eye of the Octagon queen bee. The two were reportedly seen ‘making out’ at the Montreal Airport after UFC 124 but like Celeste’s romance with Burkman, it fizzled out.
Josh Burkman and Tiki Ghosn never made it to the top of the UFC rankings and never got to win a UFC belt but both have the distinction of wooing one of the UFC’s most coveted assets. Lucky men!
Brittney Palmer
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The only Octagon girl ( if any ) right now who could rival Arianny Celeste’s popularity would be Brittany Palmer. Though equally hot and sexy as Celeste, Palmer’s other claim to fame was her nasty split from husband Aaron Zalewski in 2015. But that’s not our story. Before she got hooked to her infamous ex, Palmer once dated the the charismatic Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
Photo:lowkickmma
Cowboy Cerrone is known as the busiest fighter in the UFC, taking fights here and there and offering his services on short notice. But before he took his saddle to Dana White’s stable, Cerrone took notice of and was busy with one of the prime ring girls of the sport in Brittany Palmer.
Palmer and Cerrone both started with the WEC and that’s where they became a couple. Cerrone was one of the WEC’s top stars while Palmer was melting hearts as the promotion’s top round girl. It was like a match made in heaven and when both took their acts to the UFC, their individual popularity exploded. Unfortunately, their relationship also blew up and they went separate ways.
Ali Sonoma
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Before the current crop of Octagon girls arrived in town, the standard for UFC girls was Ali Sonoma. The blonde bombshell was a contestant in Maxim’s ‘UFC Octagon Search’ in 2006. And although she finished just second in the competition, she landed the job and weakened the knees of many UFC fans and fighters alike. One of those was The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez.
Photo:sbnation.com
Sanchez and Sonoma were a couple from 2006-2008. Their relationship went serious as they became engaged and started to live together. But Sanchez later decided to focus on his career and called off the relationship. Said Sonoma via Social media in 2008:
“As some of you know I was in a almost 2 year relationship with UFC fighter Diego Sanchez, a man who proposed to me after 4 weeks of dating. Diego recently decided he can’t have both: he can’t have the relationship and be the champion. Sigh…and that’s ok…I am the kind of person I believe everything happens for a reason, due to God’s will and His plan for us…and I will do nothing but trust in Him and not who I thought and always imagined would always be there for me. Words sometimes have no meaning, based on the person they come from. Ladies, don’t rely on your “man” or whoever it is that you think will never forsake you.”
It’s hard to think that Diego Sanchez traded bliss for blood. But hey’ he’s not the original Ultimate Fighter for nothing.
Amber Nichole Miller
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Amber Nichole Miller made her UFC debut at UFC 40 in 2002 and would be one of the regular Octagon girls for the next for years after that. Little did she know however that the man who starred ( and won ) in the main event of UFC 40 would become her future real life partner.
Tito Ortiz was the UFC’s first pay per view star and was responsible for putting the sport of MMA in the mainstream of US sports. At the main event of UFC 40, Ortiz successfully defended the UFC Light Heavyweight title with a third round stoppage of bitter rival Ken Shamrock. That victory would prove to be Tito’s last championship win as he would lose the belt and go 9-10-1 in his next 20 fights and see his career spiral downward until his retirement last January 2017.
But it was not only Tito’s MMA career that struggled after that. The Huntington Beach Bad Boy also saw his turbulent marriage to porn star Jenna Jameson end distastefully in March 2013. A year later though, Ortiz found new love in Miller, whom she fondly calls ‘Man Crush Monday’ in her social media posts. The couple remain together to this date and Miller seems to have bonded very well with Tito’s two kids from his marriage with Jameson.
Ortiz’s up and down MMA career ended on high note with a quick submission victory over Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170 last January 21. His equally troubled personal life also seems to have found a happy ending with Amber Nichole Miller.
Natasha Wicks
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Like Ali Sonoma, Natasha Wicks’ ticket to the UFC came courtesy of Maxim Magazine’s Octagon Search competition. Unlike Ali though, Natasha won the contest and was declared the winner at the iconic UFC 100 in July 2009. In a surprise twist however, Wicks and fellow Octagon girl Logan Stanton were cut from the UFC’s roster at the end of that year. Natasha Wicks didn’t leave the UFC empty handed though.
During her short stint with the promotion, Wicks met light heavyweight Kyle Kingsbury on the job. Kingsbury was a finalist in the season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter but didn’t really have a solid run in the UFC. Kingsbury finished his UFC career with a 4-5 record in the promotion while losing his last four bouts. 2014 may have been the year Kyle Kingsbury’s MMA career ended but it was also the year he got engaged to Natasha Wicks. The two are still going strong now and have a baby boy named Sol.
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