Sophie Cunningham went from UFC 329 Octagon girl to torching the Las Vegas Aces in under 24 hours

Sophie Cunningham had never attended a UFC event before Saturday night. Finally one worked.

The Indiana Fever guard made a surprise appearance as an Octagon girl, carrying the Round 1 card at UFC 329 in Las Vegas ahead of the co-main event between Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint-Denis.

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Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Cunningham explained how the last-minute cameo came together.

“I went to my first live fight last night, it was great,” Cunningham said. “Overall the whole experience was great.”

Cunningham said that during the event, UFC CEO Dana White came by to say hello and decided to pitch an idea.

“Dana came up to me to tell me what was going on and I said, ‘Hey, if you need a girl in the ring, let me know.’ And she said, ‘Okay, it’s the first round of the Paddy fight, it’s you,'” he said.

At first Cunningham thought he was joking.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, duh,’ and he was like, ‘No, seriously,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” she said. “But it was a lot of fun. It was a great environment.”

Sophie Cunningham arrives at the arena before the game against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena on July 9, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) (2026 NBAE)

There was no rehearsal, but Cunningham thought it was simple enough.

“At the end of the day you pull the card up and turn left. Hopefully I can do that,” he said. “But the ring girls, the real ones actually, were helping me. It was fun. They said, ‘You’ve got to have some personality, you’ve got to be a little sassy.’ It was a good time.”

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Personality and sass have never been a problem for Sophie Cunningham.

White responded by wearing a Sophie Cunningham jersey for the Fever-Aces game on Sunday.

UFC CEO Dana White poses with the Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham after the Fever’s 109-75 victory over the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena on July 12, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nev. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

He picked a pretty good day to support the newest Octagon girl.

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Indiana defeated the reigning champion Aces 109-75, with Cunningham coming off the bench to score 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He also knocked down six of his seven shots from beyond the arc and single-handedly made more 3-pointers than Las Vegas’ entire roster.

Not a bad trip to Vegas.