Sophie Cunningham's UFC Ring Girl Role Was On Brand

Indiana Fever star guard Sophie Cunningham served as an impromptu ring girl for the UFC 329 fight in Las Vegas on July 11, the main event of which was between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway.

The UFC employs ring girls to walk around the octagon and hold up a poster showing which round is about to take place. Cunningham (who is in Las Vegas because the Fever play the Aces on July 12) did so for the first round of the co-main event between Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint Denis. Her huge smile while doing so clearly showed that she was basking in the spotlight.

Sophie Cunningham served as honorary Octagon girl at UFC 329 👊 pic.twitter.com/a4q5EAyQrE
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 12, 2026

It's hard to imagine a WNBA player who is better suited for such a role, given how much of a mainstream star Cunningham has become since joining the Fever in 2025. In fact, being a ring girl feels quite fitting for Cunningham's personality.

It's awesome to see a women's basketball star get this sort of shine, which Cunningham was able to secure because of her solid relationship with UFC CEO and President Dana White.

This is only going to boost Cunningham's stardom and platform moving forward, especially in the wake of her going supremely viral for her finger-point at DeWanna Bonner when the Fever and the Phoenix Mercury played each other last month.

Cunningham also shared a hilarious moment with Max Holloway, where he mimicked her point at Bonner while she mimicked his iconic point down to the octagon canvas, which Holloway is notorious for doing at the end of fights to signal to his opponent that he's willing to ditch defense and throw fists with reckless abandon in for fight's final few seconds, which produced arguably the biggest knockout in UFC history in 2024.

Max Holloway poses for a photo with Sophie Cunningham after beating Connor McGregor tonight at UFC 329. pic.twitter.com/2D8sKzIkGo
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 12, 2026

Sophie Cunningham Speaks About UFC Ring Girl Experience

Cunningham spoke with the media before the Fever's July 12 game against the Aces and was asked about her ring girl opportunity.

After saying she was given the opportunity "like five minutes before" actually doing it, she added, "Me and Dana [White] have kind of become friends, and he's an amazing dude, and UFC is awesome... Dana came over to say what's up, and I was like, 'Hey, if you need a ring girl, let me know.' And he was like, 'All right, first round for the Paddy fight. That's you,'" per an X video from Tony East.

Cunningham added that the ring girl role requires, "A little personality and a little sass." Cunningham has both in spades, which is not only why she was given this opportunity, but also why she excelled with it.

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