Caitlin Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham surprised her fans with an unexpected UFC 329 appearance.
According to Sportsnaut, in an unexpected crossover, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who recently went viral for her on-court moments, stepped into the UFC Octagon as a ring girl during the UFC 329 event.
Cunningham made her surprising last-minute appearance on Saturday night, July 11, at the event in Las Vegas before the co-main event between Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint Denis.
Sophie Cunningham's UFC Octagon appearance
The 29-year-old WNBA standout known as Clark’s on-court protector was initially sitting at T-Mobile Arena when she decided to do something more interesting than only watching the fight.
So, before the Pimblett and Saint Denis main event, the 6'1" basketballer grabbed the Round 1 card and kicked off her shoes before taking a lap around the Octagon.
Wearing a black tank top and shorts, she also broke out her famous pointing gesture that became one of the biggest memes of the year.
Dana White on Sophie Cunningham's ring girl surprise
After the match, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that the decision of sending Cunningham was spontaneous.
He told reporters, “I love Sophie Cunningham. We’ve created a relationship, and she was here tonight. When she walked in, she went, ‘Oh, I want to walk around that [Octagon].’ I said, ‘Then you’re going to walk around it.’ She’s fun.”
Netizens react to Cunningham’s UFC Octagon surprise
Cunningham's brief cameo became one of the most talked-about moments of the night as fans flooded social media with praise and fun crossover.
A user wrote, “I saw the pics and genuinely thought it was AI.”
“She’s genuinely the most baddest / prettiest / the queen of the WNBA," the second one gushed.
“This is great stuff. This is the attitude the WNBA needs more of and less of the Reese attitude and the bully mentality,” another added.
A UFC fan commented, “Max spent more time in the octagon with Sophie than he did with Connor.”
During the faceoff, Pimblett choked Saint Denis unconscious in less than a minute, ending the fight in the first round.
