Meet UFC’s first black ring girl who overcame porn past and worked as Playboy bunny
Having found fame as the first black ring girl to ever appear in the UFC, Chandella Powell’s world nearly came crashing down over her raunchy past.
In 2009, Dana White’s promotion recruited Powell who had previously worked as a bunny at the Playboy Club at the Palms Casino Resort. She was permitted to continue her work in a fluffy suit when she wasn’t parading numbers around an octagon.
But unbeknown to promotion chiefs, the beauty had also posed for softcore porn pictures, under the name of ‘Maria Ashton’. The images came to light in 2012 though, just weeks before the UFC 144 event in Japan.
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It prompted a frenzy as rumours circulated that Powell was to be sacked, and the American initially remained silent before taking to Twitter to issue a grovelling apology to MMA fans: “When you are young, you often don’t realise that your actions have consequences,” she pleaded.
“I made a bad decision about ten years ago, but you learn from these moments. There is nothing I can do to change the past, and believe me, if I could, I would.
“That decision doesn’t represent who I am today. All I can do now is put the past behind me and move forward. I am sorry to disappoint any of my fans and my family at Zuffa. I love you guys :).”
Were the UFC right to let Chandella Powell continue? Let us know in the comments section.
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
(Image: INSTAGRAM@ChandellaPowell)
(Image: INSTAGRAM@ChandellaPowell)
Her apology appeared to do the trick, as Powell did indeed keep her job in the UFC. Perhaps justifiably so, given fellow ring girls Celeste and Brittney Palmer also both appeared on the front cover of Playboy Magazine without being sanctioned.
The debate surrounding ring girls in combat sports has flamed up numerous times in recent years, with UFC legend Khabib claiming they should be axed from UFC. He branded them the ‘most useless people in martial arts’ and said he had no interest in using them.
His comments received a backlash though, with Sara Beverley Jones ripping into the Russian icon for his stance: “The girls only ever enter a cage or ring during the interval, so they’re not distracting from any fighting taking place,” he said. “It’s a great job and a great side earner for lots of women who enjoy doing it.
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