Don't hate her because she's got an impossibly hot bod.
But even if you do, Christine Hallauer is hardly bothered.
The sexy, curvaceous 24-year-old from Perth, Australia, is the newest ring girl at ONE Fighting Championship (FC), considered Asia's largest mixed martial arts organisation.
And her job is to grab eyeballs.
On a night of packed fighting bouts, the 1.67m-tall brunette struts around the ring in a bikini, hoisting a placard that reads the number of the next round.
Local fans can catch Hallauer - who boasts D-cup assets and exotic looks due to her mixed heritage (her dad is Swiss and her mum is Filipino) - come April 5, when the Singapore Indoor Stadium plays host to the next ONE FC fight card event. (See report on facing page.)
In town last week for a photoshoot and interview with The New Paper, Hallauer said that while most guys appreciate the entertainment value she adds to the testosterone-laden event, she has had her fair share of unkind remarks from the fairer sex.
Not nice to hear
"Before I joined ONE FC, I used to work at smaller fights in Australia.
"Women in the audience would make negative comments like 'she's so bimbotic', 'what she's doing is so frivolous', stuff along that line," she recalled.
"Of course, it isn't nice to hear, but I'd just ignore them, smile and walk away.
"They're just eating sour grapes."
For one, Hallauer would have you know she's no bimbo.
Aside from her current stint with ONE FC and doing freelance modelling - she has posed for Australian men's magazine Ralph, which shares the same format as local lad mag FHM - she is a final-year undergraduate at Curtin University in Perth, majoring in human resources and industrial relations.
"Ahead of my graduation in July, I'm doing part-time administrative work with an oil and gas company," she said.
"I treat my course of study very seriously and I foresee myself venturing into the human resources industry in the future.
"This (referring to her ring girl and model status) is more for fun, it's like a back-up plan."
She is glad to have the support of her mum, who is aware of the increasing dominance of mixed martial arts in the region.
"It's a huge, growing sport in the Philippines, which is my mum's hometown.
"As for my dad, he'd rather not know of my modelling jobs, so I don't tell him what I do," said Hallauer with a giggle.
The upcoming fight card in Singapore would mark the biggest event - the predicted crowd size is 12,000 - she has appeared at. "I'm both excited and nervous," she said.
Ms Josephine Tan, head of marketing at ONE FC, told The New Paper that the importance of a mixed martial arts ring girl cannot be underestimated.
"At ONE FC, we hope to give audiences the best of both worlds," she said.
"Mixed martial arts is very male-dominated from the get-go. Females in the crowd often ogle at the handsome, muscular athletes... Likewise, we hope to provide some eye candy for our male spectators.
"Ring girls such as Christine are the ambassadors of ONE FC. They attend meet-the-fans sessions, too - sometimes alongside our fighters, sometimes on their own."
Hallauer, who did gymnastics when she was younger, highly admires the work ethic of the mixed martial arts fighters.
With a coy chuckle, she added that she would "certainly not mind dating one in the future".
"I love these fighters' dedication and commitment to the sport," said the bachelorette.
"And yeah, I like sporty dudes and masculine guys in general."
Her ex-beau used to be a footballer, she said, but they eventually broke up "as he had to travel a lot".
The tables have turned though.
With ONE FC's events spread across Asia, from Malaysia and the Philippines to Indonesia and Singapore, Hallauer is geared up to be a globetrotting jet-setter.
"Now, I'd be the one doing the travelling," she said.
WHAT: ONE Fighting Championship - Kings & Champions Singapore
WHEN: April 5, 7pm
WHERE: Singapore Indoor Stadium
TICKETS: $38, $68, $148 and $348 from Sistic (6348-5555 or www.sistic.com)
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