Ring Girls

(If you're feeling a sudden urge to put some money on the dresser, that's no accident.)

Anyone who’s ever called in to work after a night of hard drinking knows that when you’re in that pitiful, vomiting state on the bathroom floor at six a.m., the line between hungover and sick is severely blurred, as is your entire field of vision.  That’s why, particularly if you call in sick the morning after Super Bowl Sunday or St. Patrick’s Day, everyone knows exactly what kind of sick you really are.  But former UFC Octagon girl Edith Labelle says she really was legitimately sick for UFC 100, and substance abuse had nothing to do with her missing the event.  Either the UFC didn’t believe her or didn’t care, because they canned her anyway:

"After the UFC Expo and weigh-ins [at UFC 100], I went to dinner," she said. "Then I attended some of the pre-parties with some of the UFC management, some of the Octagon girls, some of the fighters. And then I started to feel ill -- I wasn't feeling good. So I decided to go to bed. I really wanted to be in good shape for the next day, obviously. Then I started to feel worse throughout the night and the next day.

(Natasha Wicks, pre-UFC makeover. Photo courtesy of Calvin Dakari, via Model Mayhem.)

If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably spent more time than you’re comfortable with imagining the glamorous life of a UFC Octagon girl.  In our minds it involves a lot of sitting around at Vegas hotel pools, fending off awkward advances from Mike Goldberg, and taking pictures of yourself with your cell phone.  A charmed life, indeed.  But judging by Ariel Helwani’s interview with Natasha Wicks, the newest addition to the UFC’s stable of professional hot chicks, it’s more like a part-time job among other part-time jobs.  In addition to filling Edith Labelle's empty seat at UFC events, Wicks says she also works as a go-go dancer at the Wynn and as a caddy for local golf courses:

You actually caddy for golfers?
Yeah. I'm not just sitting in the cart like, 'Hee hee.' I actually do my job.

Do you suggest what kind of clubs they should use?
Yeah, sometimes. I'm not the best. I'm actually really bad at golf. It's like the one thing I can't pick up. I can pretty much pick up anything. Usually if I try something, I'm usually extremely competitive, and I like to try new things. But golf for some reason, for me, it's just like I have goofy arm or something. I feel awkward-looking. I'm just impressed when people hit it. I'm like, 'Wow, good job!' So I'm probably even a better caddy, just because every time they even just hit the ball, I'm so impressed.

(For lots more Carano vs. Cyborg weigh-in pics, hit up CombatLifestyle and flickr.com/photos/shosports)

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

The face of women's MMA was in fine form at yesterday's weigh-ins — which is unsurprising, considering Scott Coker was weighing her every day. We'll be liveblogging the Showtime broadcast of "Carano vs. Cyborg" tonight starting at 10:30 p.m. ET, so swing by and let us know what you think. After the jump: The ultra-slick show-opening video for Carano vs. Cyborg. Deal with it, Gladiator.

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com's Natasha gallery, via Fightlinker)

Two questions here: 1) Have we reached the point yet where you all know that the new UFC Octagon girl is named Natasha Wicks and we can finally stop referring to her as the new girl?  Not yet?  Okay, we’ll give it another week or so.  2) The UFC seems to have given blondie a makeover now that she’s officially on the payroll and, I gotta admit, I liked her better before.  Gone is her unruly mop of curls, and with it her aerobics-instructor-on Red-Bull enthusiasm.  If I’m not mistaken, looks like her boobs even got bigger (or did they just stuff some extra padding in there?). 

Some before and after pictures are provided after the jump for the sake of comparison.  Because hell, it’s Friday afternoon.  What else do you have to do besides sit in front of your computer and earnestly try to to decide whether a professional model’s breasts have grown?

P.S. Following up on the departure of former Octagon girl Edith Labelle, Fighters Only claims that she got fired after calling in hungover to UFC 100.  For her sake, we hope that's just a rumor.  That would be like Santa Claus calling in sick with heroin withdrawal on Christmas Eve.  If he were real.  And addicted to heroin.  And had huge fake tits.  You know what, just forget I ever attempted this analogy.

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

MMA Fanhouse has confirmed that Edith Labelle — you know, the large-chested Octagon Girl who's not Arianny or Logan — won't be holding round cards and blowing kisses to the camera during UFC broadcasts anymore. Her manager was quoted as saying "Something happened, but at this time, I can only confirm that Edith no longer works for the UFC." Considering the rumors that swirled around Amber Nichole Miller's departure, that "something" could be nothing, or that something could be something; feel free to speculate wildly in the comments section below. Edith will be officially replaced by Maxim Octagon Girl Search winner Natasha Wicks at UFC 101 tomorrow night in Philadelphia.