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Ronda Rousey poses for photos in nothing but body paint

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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.

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.

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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.

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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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