Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016: A naked Ronda Rousey will grace the 2016 cover of Sports Illustrated: Swim.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 revealed the first look at SI Swimsuit 2016: UFC fighter Ronda Rousey, model Ashley Graham and Hailey Clauson.
"Because one just wasn't enough. Here are your THREE 2016 #SISwim cover models!" SI Swimsuit tweeted.
Former UFC champion Ronda was 'clothed' only in body paint for her cover.
"Every single woman that is booked for this magazine is cover worthy," Assistant Managing Editor MJ Day said in a statement.
"The collective beauty in the magazine is overwhelming. SI has always been and will always be about the models. The pictures you see here are a celebration of them. The three covers of Hailey, Ronda and Ashley celebrate the new SI Swimsuit. All three women are beautiful, sexy and strong. Beauty is not cookie cutter. Beauty is not 'one size fits all.' Beauty is all around us and that became especially obvious to me while shooting and editing this year's issue."
Rousey was also featured in last year's swimsuit issue.
"Such an honor to share the cover with @theashleygraham and @haileyclauson for @si_swimsuit's issue celebrating women of all body types," Rousey tweeted.
It is the first time that three very different body types have been represented in the annual bikini special. Sports Illustrated announced that plus-size model Ashley Graham is one of its rookies of the year in the 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The 2016 issue's five rookies will be voted on by the public in an upcoming poll. Whichever rookie wins is guaranteed a spot in the 2017 issue as well.
Today, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit franchise reaches more than 70 million US adults annually and more men 18 to 34 than the Super Bowl. The iconic franchise spans more than 20 product extensions along with a vibrant experiential marketing business.
The fashion industry describes SI Swimsuit as the "Oscars of Swimwear," as an appearance in the issue is a crowning achievement for swimsuit and accessory manufacturers.
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues hit newsstands on Monday.
