Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham had an unexpected introduction to the world of UFC during her first-ever visit to an event in Las Vegas. Appearing on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, the WNBA star discussed her experience watching the matches live, her interaction with UFC President Dana White, and how she unexpectedly found herself stepping into the role of a ring girl.
Cunningham revealed that she first met White at the event and jokingly offered to fill in as a ring girl. What started as a casual remark quickly turned into a real opportunity.
“I was talking to Dana and I was literally kidding. That was the first time I met him,” she recalled.
As White was leaving, Cunningham decided to throw out a suggestion, telling him, “Hey, if you need another ring girl,” while gesturing toward herself.
However, White appeared to take her offer seriously. When she confirmed that she was interested, he responded, “No, seriously, you’re up in like five minutes.”
Despite initially making the suggestion as a joke, Cunningham admitted that she became surprisingly nervous when it was time to actually do it.
“I don’t really get nervous for things and I don’t know why I was going to get nervous to turn left,” she said.
The experience also gave her a newfound appreciation for the women who regularly perform the role at UFC events.
“I did not give maybe those girls as much credit as I should, but then once I was over there… when you have to be the one walking, it’s like a whole different deal. Give them some respect. Stuff is hard,” Cunningham added.
Beyond her unexpected ring girl appearance, Cunningham came away impressed with the overall experience and had plenty to say about the atmosphere inside the arena.
“I love Dana,” she said, expressing her admiration for the UFC president and noting that he also had positive things to say about her participation.
However, it was the intensity of the matches that really caught her off guard. Recalling one particularly memorable exchange, Cunningham described hearing the sound of a clean strike connecting with an opponent.
“On one of the matches someone kicked the [ ] out of someone and I heard the skin on skin and I went, ‘Oh,'” she recalled. “And everyone else is silent and I had got like no joke like, 25 people were like and I was like sorry it’s my first match,” she added.
While Cunningham enjoyed watching the action, she admitted that there were certain aspects of MMA she found difficult to stomach. She was particularly uncomfortable with athletes continuing to receive strikes after being knocked out.
“Like, yeah, you can get a hit in, but once they’re knocked out, I can’t watch anymore. Like I don’t know. Call the match faster,” she said.
The WNBA guard also revealed that submissions were another part of the sport she struggled to watch, admitting, “Choking people out scares the [ ] out of me.”
Despite those reservations, Cunningham made it clear that her first experience at a UFC event left a positive impression.
“UFC though, as a whole, amazing experience,” she concluded.
