Longtime UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste has issued a lengthy response to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s controversial statement that ring girls are “useless.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov recently argued that ring girls serve absolutely no purpose in MMA. He stated that everyone already knows what round it is so the signs are pointless and essentially argued that scantily clad women being placed front in center for no good reason made him uncomfortable and isn’t suitable for a family environment. Here is some of what Khabib had to say.
“I realize that is a history. History knows many mistakes. We read history to avoid mistakes of the past in the future. If we look in the history, it says they are useless. That is my personal opinion…”
That personal opinion was met with wide backlash and countering opinions. Many viewed the comments as tone-deaf and sexist. Others defended Khabib’s comments as culturally grounded and valid, even if politically incorrect. As always when a story goes as viral as this one, MMA figures also weighed in on the subject.
However, not everyone took the matter all that seriously. For instance, UFC ring girl Brittney Palmer got a good laugh out of the whole thing along with Conor McGregor by way of a Simpsons meme that provided a risqué depiction of Khabib’s comments.
Palmer’s colleague and fellow UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste is not laughing, however. All in all, the popular ring girl is brushing off Khabib’s words but not without addressing them at length. Friday, Celeste posted her response on Instagram, and you can read the full text of what she had to say below.
“I’ve worked over 15 years in this industry and learned it’s easier just to simply NOT CARE.
“For 15 years we have been more than just ring girls – we have dedicated time in promoting UFC and showing love and time to our die-hard fans through touring the world and personal appearances. And while the world is very different right now, I can still feel that energy and love every time we have a show with an audience.
It’s taken me 15 years of hard work, dedication, and time to be:
•A badass independently wealthy female.
•A real estate investor and owner of not just 1 but 3 homes/properties one located in LA -which is expensive AF.
•and a female who is not afraid to take risks and build for my future.
“You can call us useless, but to people like me who have worked this hard, it slips right off my shoulders. My life is too good to be unhappy. You don’t have to like me, but you will respect me.
“Last but not least, please tell me why reporters and have nothing better to talk about than the ring girls? There has to be way better things to ask about!!
–
“Next subject. ?”
Khabib has neither apologized nor doubled down on his comments as of yet. You can expect the UFC great to be asked about them at some point to see if he would like to issue a retraction or if he stands by his original remarks.
Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov was out of bounds for his statement that UFC ring girls are “useless?”
