Ronda Rousey has returned to Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, this time in body paint.
The recently dethroned Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion posed in the black-and-white painting of a white tiger for the shoot, which will appear in next month’s swimsuit issue.
The suit, crafted by Australian swimsuit maker “We Are Handsome,” is priced at $255 and is nicknamed “The Fighter.”
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Rousey, 28, lost her UFC belt in November in Australia when unbeaten former boxing world champion Holly Holm knocked her out by a head kick in the second round.
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Holly Holm celebrates her victory over Ronda Rousey in their women’s bantamweight championship bout at UFC 193 event in Melbourne, Australia.
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Holly Holm, right, lands a kick to the neck to knock out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2015. (Paul Crock / AFP/Getty Images)
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Ronda Rousey, left, goes down after being knocked out by a kick to the neck from Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Ronda Rousey hits the canvas after being knocked out by Holly Holm.
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Ronda Rousey receives medical treatment after being knocked out by Holly Holm.
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Holly Holm, right, is declared the bantamweight champion after defeating Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.
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Holly Holm wears the women’s bantamweight belt she won from Ronda Rousey during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Holly Holm punches Ronda Rousey during their championship bout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. UFC leadership says Holm’s next fight will be a rematch with Rousey. Holm’s camp wanted a fight against Miesha Tate while Rousey recovered from her first fight against Holm.
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Holly Holm, right, demonstrated all her skill and athleticism at UFC 193 with a second-round knockout of Ronda Rousey.
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Holly Holm, right, fights Ronda Rousey for the women’s bantamweight belt at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Holly Holm, left, defeated Ronda Rousey by second-round knockout in UFC 193 in Australia to claim the women’s bantamweight title.
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Holly Holm, left, pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history by defeating Ronda Rousey in November 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
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Holly Holm, top, upset Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Ronda Rousey, center, appears focused as she walks toward the octagon for her UFC bantamweight title fight against Holly Holm.
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Joanna Jedrzejcyk, left, punches Valerie Letourneau during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Joanna Jedrzejczyk, right, defeated Valerie Letourneau by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia on Nov. 14, 2015. (Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)
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Mark Hunt, right, defeated Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Robert Whittaker, right, defeated Uriah Hall by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Jared Rosholt, top, defeated Stefan Struve by unanimous decision during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Jared Rosholt, right, and Stefan Struve compete at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Jake Matthews holds down Akbar Arreola during UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Akbarh Arreola looks on after his UFC 193 bout against Jake Matthews was stopped after the second round because of the swelling near Arreola’s eye.
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Jake Matthews celebrates his victory over Akbarh Arreola at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Kyle Noke, left, kicks Peter Sobotta on his way to a first-round technical knockout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Gian Villante, right, punches Anthony Perosh on his way to a first-round technical knockout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Danny Martinez defeated Richie Vaculik by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Danny Martinez holds down Richie Vaculik at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Steve Montgomery, left, takes a hit during a loss to Dan Kelly at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Dan Kelly punches Steve Montgomery during their middleweight bout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Dan Kelly, right, used a late rally to beat Steve Montgomery at UFC 193 event in Melbourne, Australia.
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James Moontasri, right, kicks Anton Zafir during their welterweight bout at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
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Ben Nguyen celebrates after defeating Ryan Benoit during their UFC 193 flyweight fight in Melbourne, Australia.
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Ben Nguyen, left, defeated Ryan Benoit by first-round submission during their UFC 193 fight in Melbourne, Australia.
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Richard Walsh, right, defeated Steven Kennedy by unanimous decision at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Quinn Rooney / Getty Images) But the defeat hasn’t diminished Rousey’s popularity.
Earlier this week, NBC announced she will become the first mixed martial arts fighter to host “Saturday Night Live” when she does so Jan. 23 with musical guest Selena Gomez.
Rousey has said that while growing up, she grew resentful of magazine models because many shots didn’t account for the reality of a woman’s normal-looking body.
Her dismissal of models, she said, was heightened by her former boyfriend’s keeping of Maxim magazines in his bedroom.
Rousey has also campaigned against “do-nothing ...” women she identified as those who usually don’t work but strive to be photogenic whenever possible.
She said she appreciated how SI’s famed photographer Walter Iooss worked to frame her in last year’s issue.
Two photos of this year’s shoot, reportedly taken at Petite Martinique Island off the coast of Grenada, have Rousey smiling, leaning back against driftwood on a beach, while also posing more seriously with her head turned right to show off the painted suit in another.
More shots are expected in the SI issue.
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