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“I Almost Said No”: Charly Arnolt Breaks Silence After Replacing Joe A. Martinez as UFC’s First Female Octagon Announcer at UFC Vegas 91

Published 04/28/2024, 12:55 AM EDT

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Charly Arnolt has made a stunning confession about her recent groundbreaking achievement at UFC Vegas 91! While the event was a success with multiple knockouts and incredible fights, the fans were left stunned at a change in announcers that happened while the card was still ongoing.

Veteran announcer, Joe A. Martinez, was unable to continue his announcing duties as he was feeling under the weather that night. As such, Arnolt was called up to take his place, and with her appearance, she made history in the UFC Octagon. However, according to a story shared by her on social media, she almost missed out on the chance of a lifetime! Let’s take a look at what she had to say.

Charly Arnolt reveals she almost refused the momentous opportunity at UFC Vegas 91

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Charly Arnolt was handling the backstage reporting duties for the UFC Vegas 91 event before she etched her name in the history books. She became the first woman to become a UFC ring announcer when she stepped up to replace Joe A. Martinez.

Her call-to-action came at the conclusion of the flyweight bout between Karine Silva and Ariane Da Silva on the night, and with Arnolt taking up the microphone to call the results of the bout, she claimed the honor of being the first woman to do so inside the Octagon.

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However, according to a video shared on her Instagram, she revealed that she almost turned down the historic opportunity! She stated, “I’m going to put up a video tomorrow talking about how everything went down tonight because, just to be honest, I almost said no to doing the announcements. I almost said no, and now I’ve made history, that is so f**king cool!”

 

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Arnolt also stated that she will be uploading another video that contains more details tomorrow, and fans eagerly await to hear the story behind her unexpected journey from backstage reporting to making history as a UFC ring announcer. While it was unclear  at the time what exactly prompted Martinez’s withdrawal from the card, he did return to the Octagon later for the main event flyweight clash between Alex Perez and Matheus Nicolau. And the entire affair has also drawn reactions from UFC fighters who were watching the events unfold!

MMA world reacts to Arnolt’s incredible night at UFC Vegas 91

While viewers were left perplexed at Joe A. Martinez stepping away from announcing in the middle of the card, according to an update shared on X by MMA Mania, the veteran announcer faced a setback as “Unfortunately Joe Martinez’s voice gave out. He’s trying to continue but it looks like Charly Arnolt will take over”.  Former UFC featherweight, Megan Anderson was also watching the event and she shared a message of concern for Martinez on her social media account as well.

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But when Charly Arnolt stepped into the Octagon with a microphone, Anderson shared the following message on X,Let’s goo Charly!!! Making history in the UFC as the first female ring announcer…And on short notice, mid card..”

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In conclusion, Arnolt’s unexpected ascent from backstage reporting to making history as a UFC ring announcer serves as an inspiration to aspiring broadcasters and underscores the unpredictable nature of live events. Do you think Charly Arnolt’s history making performance will lead to more opportunities for female announcers in the UFC? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

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Written by:

Dushyant Patni

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Dushyant Patni is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Dushyant brings 8 years of professional writing experience to his coverage of MMA at ES. This literature graduate excels in the coverage of both MMA-related and off-topic subjects.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta