Many didn’t know Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham would be walking alongside the Octagon at UFC 329. Neither did she.
After Saturday’s fights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas concluded, UFC president/CEO Dana White said Cunningham’s appearance as a member of the Octagon crew was spontaneous.
Dana White explains how Sophie Cunningham stepped into UFC 329 role
“[We decided] eight minutes before she did it,” White said (h/t Tom Rashid of BoxingNews.com). “I love Sophie Cunningham. We’ve created a relationship. She was here tonight, and when she walked in, she goes ‘Oh, I want to walk around [The Octagon].’ I said, ‘Then, you’re going to walk around it.'”
Cunningham joined the normal Octagon crew in holding cards before rounds. She then walked back to her seat in the front row, started giggling and pointed her finger at the camera, a nod to her viral finger-pointing meme.