Meet the UFC Octagon girls taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov for his sexist remarks
UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov recently announced that Gorilla Fighting Championship, the Russian MMA league he now runs, will not have ring girls, calling them “the most useless people in martial arts.” This is, however, not the first time that these models have been at the receiving end of inappropriate comments. Fighter Ronda Rousey in 2015 said that ring girls should not make more than fighters, a comment that subsequently led to a war of words between her and Celeste.
“I was like, here we go again. I think with Khabib, there are cultural differences,” said longtime ring girl Arianny Celeste of the Russian’s conservative Muslim faith, of Nurmagomedov's comment. “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say it. But again, I am kind of used to it.”
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Who are the UFC ring girls defending themselves?
Arianny Celeste, 35, is a mother of one and an entrepreneur. She owns a subscription jewelry service called Girlfriend Box.
Ring girl Brookliyn Wren, 35, who started in 2017, told The New York Post. "We aren’t allowed to say how much we make, but I promise you it’s not as much as the fighters. We don’t take away from the fighters. Everybody loves Vanna White. No one called her useless.” Wren was scouted by UFC honcho Dana White while she worked as a cocktail waitress in Vegas. Her profile rose immediately after she started with the UFC.
Brittney Palmer, 34, is a contemporary artist who collaborates with UNICEF and AMFAR. The ring girls receive a lot of bitterness from fans online, but they say that the fans are very nice in person. I get a lot of music and art lovers. Fans have given me art supplies,” said Palmer.
Talking about her fans, Luciana Andrade, 35, said, "They’re always so nice in person.” She revealed that one customer sent her a customized Super Nintendo. Andrade, who is studying to take the bar exam in February, is interested in immigration and criminal law. "But maybe one day I will work in the legal department at UFC,” she said.
Last month, the four women got the support of UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. “To say they don’t belong to martial arts, it’s so bad . . . Without all of this, any fighter would not be in the position of where he is right now . . . All these little details, they fulfill the full picture,” the Kyrgyzstani-Peruvian fighter said. The women said that Shevchenko's words meant a lot. “For a couple of years, we were getting [verbally] beaten and no one spoke up for us. She is a champion and someone who supports us,” said Andrade. “If anyone had the chance to do what we do, they would take it,” said Wren. "But not everyone is confident enough to walk around 17,000 people in a bikini.”
