UFC’s debut in Saudi Arabia saw names like Robert Whittaker, Sergei Pavlovich, Sharaputdin Magomedov, and several big names grace the Octagon. But one aspect was missing. While most UFC events are incomplete without the Octagon girls, UFC in Saudi Arabia witnessed the promotion do away with glamor. This reminded people about what Khabib Nurmagomedov said years ago.

Back in 2021, the former lightweight champion stated that UFC’s tradition, which invited a lot of attention, was not really important. He opined, “Ring girls are the most unnecessary people in MMA. What function do they bring? You turn on the TV and you see it’s the second. Why are they walking there?”

Furthermore, he also pointed out that although everyone had their own preferences and culture, he got pretty uncomfortable when he sat down to watch the events with his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. And he wasn’t wrong here. In fact, the change in traditions that the promotion made in Saudi Arabia was driven by respect for the country’s culture. This is also evident by the fact that the UFC has faced backlash for having Octagon girls in the past. But they withstood it.

It is important to note that the event in Saudi featured no female fighters.

Regardless, UFC’s debut in a country with largely different ideologies than the US, provoked arguments that dragged famous Octagon girls like Brittney Palmer and Arianny Celeste into the debate. That being said, Nurmagomedov’s thoughts also found a lot of support.

Fans took to Reddit to discuss the matter. What did they say?

Fans claim Khabib Nurmagomedov was right in his judgment!

Dana White’s decision was greatly appreciated as the news went viral on Reddit. Without a doubt, the fans now seemed to agree that Khabib Nurmagomedov was right back when he opposed the concept of models walking around the Octagon between the rounds. Thus, one of the fans wrote, “Khabib was right, they serve no purpose. Until this post, I didn’t even notice that they weren’t there.” Meanwhile, another fan commented, “Dude, honestly didn’t notice until seeing this post lol. Khabib had a point, they serve no purpose lol.”

These comments might anger Arianny Celeste. Why? When Nurmagomedov dismissed Octagon girls as being important, Celeste was furious. She took to Instagram and wrote, “I’ve work 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.” 

Her statements received a lot of support from other Octagon girls like Luciana Andrade, Red Dela Cruz, Vanessa Hanson, Camila Oliveira, and Brittney Palmer.

The fans found it funny when the world previously stood against ‘The Eagle’. One of the comments read, “It’s so funny when people were s**ting on khabib when he said they’re irrelevant, they were saying s** like “it’s essential, it adds to the presentation.”

Some of the fans agreed that the tradition of letting the ring girls do walkarounds was pointless indeed. A comment read, “call it what you want, the ring girls are unnecessary overall.. but if they INISIST on keeping em, then keep em as actual ring girls. take em to the ppv’s and have em do the rounds, but on weigh-ins??? seems kinda pointless.”

However, the models you see in the UFC do not just walk around. They represent the promotion by attending promotional events and doing media appearances, as well as encouraging fans to engage more on social media.

To add to the discussion, some of the fans claimed that they didn’t even notice that the ring girls were absent, even though they watched the weigh-ins for the event. “I watched the weight-ins, honestly I didn’t even notice till now,” wrote a fan. Another fan wrote, “And barely anyone noticed lol.”

Well, not seeing Octagon girls in a big UFC event might be new for fans. However, what is your opinion? Should the UFC continue having Octagon girls?