The Face of Women’s MMA

The face of women’s MMA has changed dramatically over the last few years, much like the MMA scene in general.  I am not talking about any one fighter, not Gina Carano, who is widely recognised as the “face of women’s MMA”, but rather about the landscape of the sport itself.

To begin with, I think that it is worth noting that women competing in MMA matches have been around much longer than most people realise.  It is not the relatively new sport that people believe, only materializing to join its male counterpart in the last three or four years.  In reality, women’s MMA has existed for as long as men’s, and possibly even longer.  There have been competitions held in Japan and Latvia since 1993.  One organization, White Dragon, held three events in Latvia, featuring both men’s and women’s MMA bouts.  Their first show was held in October 1993, a month before the UFC debuted on the scene.

So why has it taken this long for women’s MMA to become mainstream?  If you ask many of the professionals, it is due to the fact that, until recently, fighting was not something that women were “supposed” to do.  In fact, to many people, it still isn’t.  It doesn’t take much research to find scores of comments criticising the sport.  Notable fighters such as Matt Hughes and Karo Parisyan have spoken out against women fighting in the sport, and comments like this do little to improve the credibility of these competitors.  The notion of men’s and women’s roles should be something that has long since become outdated, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.  Fighting is considered unladylike and brutal, which is currently causing more harm than good.

You must remember, however, that as men’s MMA became more main stream, it received a hail of criticism from members of the public, right up to member of the U.S. Senate.  Senator John McCain went so far as to call the sport “human cockfighting”. This was a comment that was echoed by the media and anyone else opposing the sport. It is only now, fifteen years later, that the sport has become more widely accepted, and Senator McCain has changed his opinion.  The same cannot be said for people’s opinions on female competitors.

The fact still remains, however, that women in MMA are genuine athletes and competitors just like men.  Regardless of people’s beliefs and morals, these women put in just as much effort as their male counterparts.  Due to the popularity of some of the female competitors, women in the sport are becoming more widely recognised, although in some cases it is more for the way they look than there fighting ability.  Some fans see these women as nice people to look at, but don’t really see them as fighters, which many women find offensive.  There are many interviews with fighters such as Gina Carano and Julie Kedzie, where the women almost plead to be taken seriously as an athlete.

In fairness, some people do take these women seriously.  Fighters such as Randy Couture and Josh Barnett have long been advocates of women’s MMA, training female fighters at their gyms and helping them train for fights.  Barnett often appears in the corner of his female fighters when they are fighting, and Couture even goes as far as training his wife Kim, and helping to find her fights to further her career.

It is fair to say that female MMA is becoming more widely accepted, but there is still a long way to go.  Companies like Elite XC are doing a stellar job of showcasing the talent emerging from the female side of the sport. Their Saturday Night Fights on CBS have done wonders for these women, especially their latest event featuring two fights with a wealth of talent. Gina Carano’s fame continues to grow with the help of Elite XC, and fighters such as Kelly Kobald-Gavin and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos have become much more recognised with their help.

Companies like the UFC, however, refuse to embrace women’s MMA, with their President Dana White publically stating that the UFC will never fights between women.  This is a huge blow to the progression of the sport, as the UFC a household name in the MMA world, and their lack of support can only hinder the spread of women’s MMA.

So what is the problem with women’s MMA? Why is it not as popular as men’s MMA? The answer here is time.  Men’s MMA has taken more than fifteen years to become as popular and widespread as it is now.  Whilst women’s MMA has been present for the same length of time, it has not been as prominent and as well advertised as its counterpart, and this is what has caused the damage.  Given time, and the right promotion, women’s MMA could be just as strong.  If the marketing and publicity isn’t done as well as it should be, it could mean the end of mainstream women’s MMA, forcing it back behind closed doors.  The MMA world needs to think very carefully about their next move with such a fragile sport.