Sophie Cunningham unlocked a new fanbase in the MMA after appearing as a ring girl during the Paddy Pimblett vs. Benoit Saint Denis co-main event bout at UFC 329 earlier this month. However, the Indiana Fever shooting guard has also faced backlash for her fierce attitude, particularly her on-court behavior. Amid the criticism, Cunningham has now received support from PFL champion Dakota Ditcheva.

Ahead of the Englishwoman’s flyweight showdown against Denise Kielholtz at PFL New York, Ditcheva defended the WNBA star and her superstar teammate Caitlin Clark from the ongoing criticism surrounding the pair.

“She’s great,” Ditcheva told Ariel Helwani. “I feel like she’s doing really well. Her and Caitlin, you know, they get a lot of stick, and I feel like Sophie’s funny because you see the clips of her getting, like, fouled all the time. And then you see, like, suddenly one day she just switches.”

While the 28-year-old did not specify which incident she was referring to, she could have been referring to the Indiana Fever shooting guard’s infamous scuffle with Connecticut Sun player Jacy Sheldon during last year’s WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. During the game, Sheldon appeared to poke Caitlin Clark in the eye while defending her near the perimeter. In retaliation, Sophie Cunningham committed a Flagrant 2 foul by shoving Sheldon.

Following the incident, the 29-year-old WNBA player faced criticism for her actions. But she also received much-needed support from prominent figures within the sport, most notably former Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, who defended Cunningham for standing up for her teammate, Clark.

That said, Ditcheva did not stop at simply voicing her support for the Indiana Fever shooting guard. She also expressed interest in playing basketball with Cunningham and invited her to train MMA.

“Well, I’d love to do a bit of basketball with her, and then she’ll feel like, now she’s fouling everyone,” Ditcheva added. “She could come and do a bit of MMA.”

When it comes to Cunningham’s potential future in martial arts, the PFL flyweight champion is not the only one who believes the WNBA star could thrive in combat sports. Even Cunningham’s teammate Caitlin Clark stated during a press conference that the Missouri native could actually become a UFC fighter following her appearance as a ring girl at UFC 329.

Now, whether Sophie Cunningham actually accepts Dakota Ditcheva’s invitation remains to be seen, but she might be encouraged to attend another UFC event after promotion boss Dana White praised her cameo at T-Mobile Arena earlier this month.

Dana White lauds Sophie Cunningham following UFC 329 Octagon girl appearance

At UFC 329, Sophie Cunningham’s cameo as a ring girl ended up stealing the spotlight, becoming one of the promotion’s most memorable cross-sports moments in recent history. But the UFC head honcho revealed that nothing had been planned ahead of the event.

Instead, it was the 29-year-old’s willingness to make the walk around the Octagon, coupled with her friendly relationship with the promotion, that prompted the UFC to recruit her as a ring girl just eight minutes before Pimblett and Saint Denis squared off in the co-main event. 

“About eight minutes before she did it,” White said during the UFC 329 post-fight conference. “I love Sophie Cunningham. We’ve created a relationship, and she was here tonight. When she walked in, she goes, ‘I want to walk around that.’ I said, ‘Then you’re going to walk around it.’ She’s fun.” 

Speaking about her experience, Cunningham also revealed that she had fun walking around the Octagon with the round card, calling it one of the most enjoyable things she had done. In fact, her friendly relationship with Dana White became even more apparent when the 56-year-old UFC CEO recently attended the Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces game and hugged Cunningham during the contest, creating a wholesome moment that quickly went viral.  

With Sophie Cunningham receiving plenty of backing from the MMA world, she has seemingly built a new fanbase that could potentially bring even more eyes to her WNBA games as well.