Sophie Cunningham serves as ring-card girl at UFC 329 in Las Vegas

"

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 11: Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever looks on during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena on July 11, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images) | Getty Images As the UFC 329 co-main event between Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint Denis was getting under way, Fever star Sophie Cunningham was trotting around the octagon with a ring card sign in her hands. The unexpected appearance definitely caught everybody off guard as there was no special announcement that Cunningham would be making an appearance. She walked around the cage with the ‘Round 1’ sign and then sat down with the other octagon girls as the fight got started. WNBA star Sophie Cunningham was the guest ring card girl for the #UFC329 co-main event between Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint Denis pic.twitter.com/4AZdezGiSX — MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 12, 2026 It turns out, Cunningham didn’t get any special introduction because she wasn’t scheduled to serve as an octagon girl until minutes before she did it. “[We hired her] about eight minutes before she did it,” UFC CEO Dana White said with a laugh at the UFC 329 post-fight press conference. “I love Sophie Cunningham. We’ve created a relationship and she was here tonight. “When she walked in she goes ‘I want to walk around that [octagon].’ I said then you’re going to walk around it. She’s fun.” Cunningham, who plays for the Indiana Fever, gained a lot of notoriety after she joined the team in a trade and immediately became known as the “enforcer” when she avenged a dirty move perpetrated on her teammate Caitlin Clark during a game. So Cunningham being a UFC fan shouldn’t be a total surprise but rather than fighting, she decided to play octagon girl for at least one night only. 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 took her talents to the Octagon in Las Vegas at UFC 329, serving as an honorary ring-card girl.

"

Sophie Cunningham made a surprise appearance at UFC 329 as one of its ring girls.