UFC ring girl Chandella Powell’s past almost came back to haunt her.
Throughout the week, there were various rumors circulating around the MMA community regarding Powell’s UFC dismissal after some softcore porn pictures of her were uncovered under the alias “Mariah Ashton.”
After days of silence, Powell took to Twitter to offer an apology to MMA fans and the UFC.
“When you are young, you often don’t realize that your actions have consequences. 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 :).”
After releasing Natasha Wicks and Logan Stanton, the UFC recruited Powell, who worked as a bunny at the Playboy Club at the Palms Casino Resort, in 2009 to work alongside longtime Octagon girl Arianny Celeste.
Despite her new-found gig, Powell was allowed to continue to moonlight as a bunny when she wasn’t strutting circles around the UFC Octagon.
Apparently, the UFC was unaware of the past photo shoots under the “Mariah Ashton” alias.
With the Fox deal in place and UFC president Dana White‘s increased global efforts, image is becoming increasingly important in the sport, and Powell’s past “softcore porn” adventures don’t fit in the itinerary.
Ironically, Celeste and Brittney Palmer have both ventured off into Playboy for photo shoots. While Celeste graced the November 2010 issue of Playboy Magazine, Palmer is slated to make her debut in March.
An issue will likely be raised on whether or not it was fair to pass judgment on Powell in the first place.
Her photos were more revealing than Celeste’s, but all in all, she really wasn’t doing anything different from her colleagues.
Powell’s job remains safe in the UFC, and she is scheduled to travel to Japan to work the upcoming UFC 144 fight card.
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