The struggle for gender equality has endured for ages and is still apparent in today’s society. A perfect example is the future of MMA careers for female fighters. UFC President Dana White shows no intention of adding a Women’s division and adding barely legitimate comments of reasoning such as no interest, chicks shouldn’t get punched in the face, and lack of depth and numbers to even create the divisions.
In 2011, Zuffa, bought out Strikeforce which happens to be a major home to women MMA fighters. Though White has not given an open reason why he will not allow a women’s division in UFC, let’s respect his views. They could be based on a number of things from spiritual beliefs, culture, or certain values (good or bad). For now, the women’s divisions of Strikeforce and Bellator are thriving. However, I feel the success of Strikeforce will depend strongly on a renewal contract for publicity on Showtime, which did get announced not long ago that an agreement was made short term. While White says he has no intention of disbanding Strikeforce and he wants to keep it aired on Showtime, he is slowly pulling away top fighters from the organization to the UFC giving them more opportunity for earnings, publicity, and status. If this continues, Strikeforce could eventually fold leaving the question of what will happen to the female MMA athletes who won’t have a division to go to.
I don’t want to speculate and judge Dana White especially with lack of legitimate information, but it’s inevitable that this poses many questions. What are his true intentions here? It is rumored that he only keeps Showtime’s slot to prevent other organizations such as Pro-Elite to promote, keeping the market dominance. That would be purely business and no concern for the value of the Women’s division. Did the purchase happen with the intentions of folding just to eliminate women athletes? There’s no doubt a smart business man like himself is noticing the growing popularity of the sport. Maybe he is just waiting to see how much it could grow before he invests his own interests? I’m not to say. I suppose we will see how those cards unfold as they happen. I also wonder if Women’s MMA is viewed as a threat, so to speak, to the sport. The Cerano/Cyborg fight is among the top 3 viewed fights ever. These women entered the cage with almost undefeated records: Cerano with 7 wins and now 1 loss, Tate with 12:2, Cyborg with entered with 10 wins and a loss but was stripped of her victory after defending her title on December 17 with a TKO in just seconds of the first round. The fight turned out to be “tainted” from Cyborg’s positive drug test result, yet it was still epic in it’s own certain proportions. In 2010, at a Bellator tournament, Megumi Fugii took the record of the most consecutive wins in MMA history with her 22 nd victory, surpassing all fighters both male and female. This just goes to show there is something remarkable about these athletes. They are proving their ground in a male-dominated sport.
One thing I do know well is a woman’s mind. Current superstars Miesha Tate, Rhonda Rousey and Gina Cerano all hold one thing in common in their past public interviews: Heart, Passion, and Confidence that women’s MMA will continue whether it is a paved avenue from UFC or not. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Miesha Tate does not express fear over the situation. She chooses to view the “pressures” of proving female talent as extra motivation to put on a great show with a great fight. The attitudes these women possess will lead to their continuing success.
This seems to be a crucial time for Women’s MMA. Another crucial aspect all these women spoke of is holding on to their femininity. For the success of holding their current statuses, the dichotomy of beauty and tactical fighting skill will have to be embraced.
The admirable quality of these women is that they are proud of being women and strive to inspire other women to gain confidence and esteem. And if a pretty smile helps your game, why not utilize it? There’s nothing wrong with taking pride in one’s self. Some people disagree and say that MMA does not need faces, but good fights. I feel the both go hand in hand. Beauty and charm must be marketable to gain interests of spectators, fans, and officials of the sport.
Something these women and the UFC should be aware, is that there is strength in numbers. These champs, like Tate, Kaufman, Frausto, and Cerano, are setting prime modeling examples for aspiring women athletes. Many questions, rumors and speculations have risen since Cerano didn’t come back to fight. She is still highly respected and would be welcomed back at any time. For now, she’s worked in movies and shows that still influence young women to rise to their own potential. They should all be addressing groups of women and directly encouraging them to get involved in good gyms and training facilities, and that MMA is not just a man’s world anymore, especially focusing on younger women who could hold in their hands the future of the sport. There is a perception of a shortage of female fighters in the pool. This is not true. There is a shortage of publicity to make these women known. We only hear of the super-stars because few fights are publicized to begin with. If enough women are inspired by these stars, North American gyms would generate enough fighters to compete professionally and become more established such as Japan and Brazil are. This may give Dana White something to think about. Santos said it perfectly when she said, “I guess MMA won’t end if UFC doesn’t want us. Girls will keep on fighting it, training and then will come up an event that will want to give us a chance.”
Of course the most substantial need is an established promoter of the sport. Will the UFC grasp a prosperous opportunity or leave it up in the air for someone who will? We all hope Zuffa will be the leader of this change, but only time will tell. In the meantime, I hope to use my voice to help to call attention to something so beneficial to women. MMA training does not lead women to be more aggressive, it leads to more confidence. It does not make them unattractive, it gives them incentive for health, weight loss, toning and strengthening. And if anything else, it gives women the power to know they have a means of self-defense should they ever be caught in a dangerous situation.
Sources:
Neher, Lacey. (2011) “Can Girls Fight? It’s time for a Women’s Division in the UFC”. Chikara Magazine.
Helwani, Ariel. (July 24, 2011) Ariel Helwani Interview MMAFighting.com
Becker, Dana. (October 14, 2011) “Cyborg Santos Discusses the Future of Female MMA” Fightline.com.
Van Duyse, Gregory. (2011) “Do Women and Martial Arts Belong Together?”. Chikara Magazine.
Deppa, Ryan. (December 15, 2011) “Strikeforce, Showtime renew partnership for 2012″. FightOutsider.com.