Every time I spar or roll (generally with men), I tell my opponent not to treat me like a girl. I can tell when you’re taking it easy on me, even in the slightest way. It could be the look in your eye, the half-second pause before you execute an arm bar, the lightening up of your weight on my ribcage. Frankly, I hate it. Don’t treat me like a girl. I’m a fighter.
There has been a slow uptake of female cagefighting—there is no female UFC division, but women do compete in Strikeforce and with lesser-known organizations. Women are hindered in part by the attitude that training females in martial arts is acceptable, but “I don’t need to see ladies pummel each other in a cage.” Ladies playing soccer, basketball and tennis? Ok. Ladies going all out; no holds barred; tap, nap or snap? Not so much.
There are two issues here. One, are women interested in watching cagefighting at all? The answer to this is easy—yes. UFC President Dana White quoted a stat that in 2011, 45% of the UFC fanbase was female. So, we’ll certainly watch men fight. But, the second and more controversial question is, does this audience want to see women fight?
I could spend hours arguing the justice of whether there should be a female division in the UFC. Do I think it’s fair that there isn’t a female division? No. Can my opinion influence change? Maybe. Is there a more efficient way to strengthen female MMA’s hold on the market? Yes: combat the barriers.
White says female fights don’t generate revenue. It’s an understandable concern—the UFC is a business after all. So, let’s demonstrate that female fighters can draw the numbers. Let’s address how we get people into seats, how we get them to engage with fighters, how we get the potential audiences to want our “product”?
Another barrier is that there will be too much negative media around women “beating each other up.” To the casual viewer, it may look like two people are stepping into the ring and simply throwing punches and kicks until the other guy gets knocked out. But, the truth of the art is that there are intense levels of skill needed, intricate techniques, an understanding of anatomy and which way your body should/shouldn’t bend, an incredible sense of timing, an eye for openings and a control of your own breathing and pace. A little bit of education will go a long way here.
The question is not whether we are capable to fight in and own this space, it’s how we entice and market ourselves to gain the support needed to create and sustain a female UFC division.
Do you think that the success of “Haywire,” and Gina Carano specifically, could lead to more female MMA popularity? It appears that she’s parlayed a successful fighting career to movie stardom. I would argue that part of that has to do with her look but more likely it also is due to her media savvy. With more bankable personalities (like all sports), it could lead to more viewers. At this point it seems like she’s the only “star” though.
I think that Carano’s move to the big screen does help with overall audience expansion of female mma. It will bring a sense of familiarity to the sport (and to your point, Gina herself)–though, the big question is whether she’ll return to the ring? Many other athletes have driven up attendance to their sporting events through expanding the limits of their “brand.” For example, Serena Williams and her fashion line.
I think there will be a women’s division in the UFC in about three years. You will only see the championship bouts on the main cards, and they might be relegated to Fuel TV and Facebook broadcasts but I think we will see them. I think the Rousey vs. Tate fight was a big step in the right direction. I would probably rather see the very best women bantam and lightweights than the men’s flyweights, which will be coming soon to the UFC. I like seeing women beat each other up; there is no problem with that. The level of size, power and speed does not quite match that of the men, much like women’s basketball. That said, I appreciate their skills and understand that Cyborg could knock me out and Ronda Rousey would tap me with an arm bar pretty quickly if I dared to fight them.
I would support women fighting competitively if they stopped coming into the ring looking like dudes, and instead, came into the ring looking like women. Dana White has a point. We can see people who look like and fight like dudes fight all day long. There’s nothing unique or interesting about women’s fights unless you present a different look. Its not sexist. Its just a fact that to be entertaining, you need to be interesting and different to the audience. You have to be commercially viable.
Quit the corn-rows. Pull your long hair (no butch cuts) back in ponytails. Wear lycra that shows you’ve got curves. Look like women. Maybe have slightly different rules that allow one to fight a little more like women do than like men do. That will get you an audience, which leads to more spots on the card, which leads to bigger prizes and more respectability.