Longtime UFC ring card girl, Brittney Palmer, announced her retirement from the UFC after more than a decade of work, during her acceptance speech for “best octagon girl” at the World MMA Awards 2023.
Brittney Palmer, the octagon girl, hung up her shorts. She announced her retirement from the UFC on Thursday.
She’s been a ring card girl for a long time. First in the now-defunct WEC, then in the UFC. She dropped the retirement bombshell while accepting the “best octagon girl” award at the World MMA Awards 2023.
UFC 296 is happening this Saturday. It’s at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This will be Palmer’s last dance around the octagon. She’s been doing this for over a decade.
“I’m really honored to accept this award,” Palmer said. She thanked the UFC, Fighter’s Only, and all her fans who voted for her. “There’s no better time to say it. After 16 years with UFC, I’m hanging up my shorts. This weekend is my last event. I’m so grateful for this unforgettable experience.”
Palmer started in the WEC. Then she moved to the UFC when the former’s talent base was folded into the latter. She became a regular fixture alongside the octagon with Arianny Celeste, another multi-time award winner at the World MMA Awards. She’s been in magazines and other programming promoting the UFC. In 2012, she was on the cover of Playboy magazine.
But Palmer isn’t just an octagon girl. She’s also a passionate artist. She does murals and paintings. She left the UFC to focus on her art. In 2011, she won a fan vote held by now-UFC CEO Dana White. The fans wanted to see her back in the UFC as the octagon girl.