Amber Nichole-Miller

Labelled as UFC’s first real octagon girl, Amber Nichole-Miller made her debut at UFC 40 back in 2002.

She met long-time boyfriend and former UFC fighter Tito Ortiz during her time as a UFC ring girl but opted to leave the organisation in pursuit of another career. Nichole-Miller initially got close to Ortiz following his divorce, having initially been scouted to become a ring girl while working at Whiskey Sky in Las Vegas.

She has appeared in various lifestyle, health and fitness magazines and joined E! Networks show, WAGS in 2017.

Logan Stanton

Older UFC fans will remember the stunning Logan Stanton making her octagon girl debut in 2008 at UFC 2008.

Born in Florida, Stanton would regularly travel to Los Angeles for modelling jobs but was a huge hit in the octagon during her time in UFC.

However, Stanton was released by UFC after controversial statements relating to former UFC fighter Josh Koscheck. Stanton said she had the 'time of her life' working as a ring girl.

Arianny Celeste

Labelled by many as the hottest UFC octagon girl of all-time, Arianny Celeste hails from Las Vegas and has been with the UFC since 2006. 

Celeste has won the UFC Ring Girl of the Year award a record six times, making her the most successful octagon girl in UFC history. She has also gone on to present various shows, including Overhaulin'. 

In addition, Celeste has featured on the front cover of FHM, Sports Illustrated, Maxim and Playboy. If you are familiar with UFC betting tips, you’ll be familiar with Celeste.

Carly Baker

The first European UFC ring girl, Carly Baker was born in England and is one of the few octagon girls with a mixed martial arts background.

While Baker no longer parades as an octagon girl, she regularly appears on TV for the company – and she is widely regarded as one of the hottest UFC ring girls.

With over 250,000 followers on Instagram, Baker is extremely popular with UFC fans around the world. She is also an actress and certified personal trainer.

Brittney Palmer

San Diego stunner Brittney Palmer began modelling at just 18 years old and featured as a dancer in the show Burlesque X in Las Vegas.

In 2011, Palmer made her UFC debut at UFC 125 and she has gone on to enjoy a successful UFC octagon girl career, winning Ringcard Girl of the Year on five occasions.

Palmer graced the front cover of Playboy in March 2012, giving her an edge over her fellow UFC octagon girls.

Chrissy Blair

Chrissy Blair is one of the hottest UFC octagon girls. Dana White made the move to bring her into the mix in 2013 after Blair impressed as a Strikeforce ring girl.

A successful model, Blair has been published in most major magazines – including GUESS, Sports Illustrated and Maxim.

While Blair is always linked with various roles away from UFC, fans needn’t worry for the time being – she is committed to her role as a UFC ring girl.

Jhenny Andrade

One of the few Brazilian UFC octagon girls, Jhenny Andrade has won the coveted UFC Ring Girl of the Year award on three separate occasions.

Away from her UFC ring girl role, Andrade is a passionate writer and has written columns for VIP Magazine for the best part of a decade.

Football supporters may know her for previously dating Brazil star Neymar though Andrade is now happily married to Caio Novaes.

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*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*

Osi Umenyiora

With his thick American accent, you could be forgiven for thinking Osi Umenyiora was a native but he was actually born in London before moving to Nigeria at the age of 7.

He passed through the American collegiate system after moving to Alabama and was drafted by the New York Giants in 2003, playing in the league for 10 glorious years.

During his stint in the Big Apple, Umenyiora played 97 matches and won two Super Bowl titles: XLII and XLVI – making him one of five British-born players to win a ring.

Umenyiora is the official NFL ambassador for 888sport and he can be seen alongside Jason Bell on the BBC’s NFL Show.

Lawrence Tynes

Following on from Osi, we have Lawrence Tynes. Tynes also played for the Giants in both Super Bowl triumphs, with Tynes taking on the important role of kicker.

Having enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs, he switched to the Giants in 2007 and enjoyed six years in New York.

Tynes made 122 of 146 field goal attempts for the Giants, helping the team to two Super Bowl victories – famously stopping the New England Patriots in their pursuit of a perfect season.

The former Giants kicker will be forever remembered at MetLife Stadium and his on-field achievements are up there with the top British NFL players of all-time. 

Jay Ajayi

Like Osi, Jay Ajayi was born in London and he was also fortunate to win a Super Bowl ring with an NFC East team.

Playing as a running back for the Miami Dolphins from 2015 to 2017, Ajayi was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and he was a huge hit at Lincoln Financial Field.

Ajayi helped the team reach Super Bowl LII and contributed to Philadelphia’s success with 57 rushing yards on that fateful February night in Minneapolis.

Unfortunately for Ajayi, he struggled with injuries after that and suffered a torn ACL in 2018. Still a free agent, Ajayi could yet make a surprise return to the NFL in the future.

Graham Gano

The third Scottish-born kicker to play in the NFL, Graham Gano has been a pillar of consistency throughout his time in the league.

He enjoyed a decent college career but signed for the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. However, he is best known for his time with the Carolina Panthers.

Gano started 121 games in his eight year career, helping the Panthers reach Super Bowl 50 but the British star missed out on a ring after losing to the Denver Broncos.

Now playing for the New York Giants, Gano may not have a better chance to win the biggest prize in the sport – that is if you believe Super Bowl odds anyway.

Jack Crawford

Selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 2012 NFL Draft, Jack Crawford has been a reliable option at the defensive tackle position during his tenure in the league.

While he has played for a number of teams throughout his NFL career, Crawford has always managed to make a positive impact – recording 112 tackles and 15 sacks.

Now plying his trade for the Tennessee Titans, Crawford will be hoping to get his hands on a Super Bowl ring before he announces his retirement in the future.

Defensive players are often overlooked but Crawford deserves plaudits for his ability to perform consistently on the National Football League stage.

Consider Qualifications

The PFSA has an array of scouting qualifications available. They advise starting with the Level 1 Talent Identification in Football – these courses range from tutor-led to entirely online.

Obviously, the cost of these is not insignificant. Potential scouts can be forking out several hundred pounds for the higher level courses and it’s a major time commitment to get the qualification.

While a qualification is a good way to develop a foundational understanding, there’s no point doing all the qualifications if you are not 100% sure that scouting is the path for you.

The FA also offer some scouting courses. These can be a good way to get to know people in the industry, but it’s important to recognise that the qualifications alone will not land a job in scouting.

Pick Your Specialisation

A lot of scouts will change their focus depending on what the club needs or throughout their career. Scouting tends to be broken into two different areas – recruitment and tactics.

The stereotype of a scout is scouring the country for the next bright young talent or flying off to Spain to watch a potential signing, but tactical scouts are every bit as important.

Andre Villas-Boas started out as an opposition scout at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, watching upcoming opponents and compiling every detail of their play. The aim is to find a tactical advantage and help your team prepare for the match.

Scouts do not have to get locked in to either recruitment or tactical scouting but leaning one way or the other can be helpful when starting out.

Build Contacts

Just like football agents and journalists, a network of contacts will help a scout. It will help to pick up information about a player, help to be made aware of a talent to watch, and it will always be useful to fall back on when looking for work.

When getting started as a scout, the PFSA can be a way to get to know established scouts. It’s a good way to pick up some tips and get an understanding of what is necessary to make it.

Networking is ever important in football, and that’s exaggerated in scouting. Scouts will, on occasion, share information. The more avenues to gather information, the better.

Building a relationship with other scouts, agents and maybe even specific players can only be beneficial.

Be Prepared To Work Hard

Long hours are inevitable in the world of football scouting. Michael Calvin’s award-winning book The Nowhere Men chronicled the grind of a scout, trailing matches far from the glamour of live betting, off the beaten track of elite football.

Scouting is more than a job. It is a way of life, a commitment to unfriendly hours, to insulting pay and chilly nights watching uninspiring football.

It’s a profession driven by the love of the game, and that pure love of football has to be there to succeed as a scout.

Appreciation and recognition can be hard to come by, as is clear in Calvin’s book. Scouts are often viewed as disposable by clubs, particularly when looking to cut costs, and their jobs will often disappear with a change of regime in the dugout or at board level.

Scouts must have a steeliness and an inner belief in their judgement. It won’t always be easy, or even just.

In what is a ferociously competitive business, every scout must throw themselves into the job and be happy to commit what many would deem an unhealthy portion of their life.

Publish Your Work

Communicating your work is a key part of the job. There’s no use picking a player out if you can’t explain what you saw, what impressed you and what you think they need to work on.

Scout reports can take many different forms – they are a skill to be practised, and this should be done constantly as you look to make a name for yourself.

Running a blog or getting a website to publish your analysis can be a great way to get exposure. It’s not only a means to hone your skills, but it can help to develop a reputation and an audience, and perhaps get spotted by a club.

The routine of getting reports to a standard so they can be published is a productive, too. It’s a means to keep standards high, and a way to prove to potential employers what you can do.

Applying for scouting positions is a lot easier if there’s a track record of your reports.

It’s not a necessity, but there’s a growing number of scouts and analysts who got their foot in the door through work published online. Anything that can get your insight noticed can help make the step from hobbyist to professional football scout.