UFC might be all about fighters beating seven shades of shit out of each other, but the sport has a touch of class thanks to Arianny Celeste.
For those uninitiated, Celeste is a ring girl who enters the Octagon between rounds to signify the number for the upcoming bout. She has her fair share of fans – 420,000 Twitter followers and a staggering 2.1 million fans of her Instagram feed.
Here are five quickfire facts on Celeste to get you up to speed on the Queen of the Octagon.
1
She has brains to match her beauty
Lingerie lover
A sports freak from an early age, Celeste grew up in Nevada and attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas where she majored in Fitness Management and Nutrition. Her exotic looks are down to the Mexican and Filipino genes that run in the family. Her real name also happens to be Penelope; Arianny was the nickname she adopted as a kid.
2
She’s a familiar face on TV Stateside
Round 1
Since joining the UFC in 2006, Celeste has parlayed her Octagon fame into magazine shoots and TV presenting gigs. Most recently she was the co-host of car show Overhaulin’, serving a two-year stint before the show ended last year.
3
She’s played Princess Leia and Catwoman
In a move to fulfil every horny teen boy’s fantasy, Celeste has portrayed both Star Wars icon Princess Leia and Catwoman in a couple of made-for-web short films released in 2013. A does-what-it-says-on-the-tin video Arianny Celeste is Princess Leia! can be seen here, while Batman v Catwoman is here. Hollywood beckons…?
4
She’s been feuding with Ronda Rousey
Fighter
Cross ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey at your peril. Celeste has been brave enough to engage in a bitter feud with the former women’s champ. When Celeste ranked higher than Rousey in Maxim’s Hot 100 for 2012, the later said: “It would have been really funny if I’d beaten Arianny Celeste… Like, ‘Ha-ha, it’s your job to show your tits — I do that better than you!’ Maybe next year. She’s only getting older, and I’m reaching my prime.”
Celeste fired back calling Rousey a “bully”: “It blows my mind that someone who doesn’t even know me continuously picks on me. And that’s all I see her as: a big bully.”
5
She loves her fans
Part of the reason Celeste is so popular on social media is her dedication to her fanbase. Where some celebs are ‘broadcast only’, Celeste engages with her followers and it only endears her to them more. Take, for instance, her love of fan art and the above repost of the pics above. Don’t go changing, Arianny.
Queen of the Octagon: Arianny Celeste is your reason to watch UFC