Iryna Ivanova

Landing our cover spot in Issue 23 is Russian-born beauty Iryna Ivanova. First gaining notoriety as an MMA cage girl, the brunette bombshell catapulted her career all the way to the coveted Playmate of the Month honours for August 2011, a dream she had been nursing since early childhood.

Iryna moved to Tucson, Arizona as a teenager, which, for obvious reasons, worked out invaluably for her budding career. Her big break came almost by accident: she tagged along to support her best friend at a cage girl audition and walked out with an offer of her own, going on to work the cage for MMA's World Fighting Federation. Blessed with stunning features and an exotic charm, it's hard to deny she was always fated to be a glamour girl, and her international appeal has since landed her in the pages of Playboy Venezuela too.

So much more than just a pretty face and a statuesque physique, Iryna flexes her brainy side with equal pride. She graduated from the University of Arizona in sports management and marketing, moonlighting as an English instructor along the way, and as a youngster she spent eight years at music school learning piano. Self-assured, ambitious and a devoted animal lover, this stunner has her sights set on causes beyond the camera, helping to stop animal cruelty among them.

In our exclusive one-on-one, Iryna Ivanova opens up about the phone call that changed her life, her ideal first date, her dream dinner party guests and what's still left on her bucket list. Her cover spread comes along for the ride.