Almost posted this on the New Mortal Kombat game thread, but then thought better of it.

Is MKX’s Cassie Cage based on UFC fighter Felice Herrig?
Geoffrey Tim
April 15, 2015 at 12:30 pm



Cassie Cage, Sonya and Johnny Cage’s ass-kicking daughter is one of the new characters you’ll find in Mortal Kombat X. Turns out, she may be based on a popular MMA fighter, a UFC star named Felice Herrig. Or to be more specific, turns out NetherRealm may have used her likeness without permission.

According to Kotaku, Herrig is a little incensed about Cassie, who she says bears more than just a passing resemblance to the MMA fighter. She first became aware of the resemblance months ago, paying it little attention – but has since moved on to having a sneaking suspicion that the team used her likeness without permission or recompense.



Here’s what’s got her riled up, according to Kotaku:

“Cassie Cage has a similar face, blows a mean gum bubble, and positions herself as a selfie superstar (Herrig is somewhat notorious in the MMA world for taking a lot of selfies).”





If you’ll recall, Cassie Cage has a Selfie Fatality. While it could be mere coincidence, the resemblances are more than striking. Of course, it wouldn’t be the first (or last!) time that fighters in games have more than a passing resemblance to real life fighters. Street Fighter’s Balrog is very much from the Mike Tyson Mould, while Fei Long, Liu Kang and Tekken’s Marshall Law borrow from the Bruce Lee archetype. Tekken’s Lei sports obvious Jackie Chan influence, and there are likely countless others.

What do you think? Does Herrig have a reason to be suspicious?