When it comes to breaking barriers for roles that were traditionally held by men, mixed martial arts keeps proving that the sport is light years ahead of the rest of the competition. 

At The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale Kim Winslow became the first women to referee a fight in the UFC. Winslow has also refereed bouts for the WEC. Winslow refereed a bout on the preliminary card between Nick Osipczak and Frank Lester. MMA Fanhouse sums up how she did,

"the Nevada State Athletic Commission appointed Winslow to work Saturday night, without any fanfare. Winslow just showed up and did her job without drawing any attention to herself, as referees always should."    

I don't think anyone needs this comparison but I will write it down for the unobservant few. There are no female referees for the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB. In fact there are no female referees for NCAA male sports, such as basketball and football. Why is this the case? I have no idea but I know that the physical demands for an MMA referee are leaps and bounds above other sports. Winslow, and other referees, have to literally throw themselves between a defenseless fighter and  an attacking opponent. That requirement has nothing to do with physical prowess and rests solely on disregarding ones own safety in the desire of protecting another.

In other female MMA news the "Doctor" at MMA Junkie wrote a pretty poor column that has been spun into an accusation of  women not being able to fight five minute rounds.  Dr. Benjamen was simply trying to say that he doesn't think the talent level in women's MMA is high enough to justify extending the rounds from three minutes to five minutes. Fair point, but he takes some digs at female MMA as a whole and many people, including myself, take exception to it. 

Kirk, the owner of MixedMartialArts.com, penned this response to the doctor. 

There were similiar arguments made by MDs against women running in marathons. I had a neighbor, Sara Mae Berman who was a pioneer of running marathons. It didn't kill her. Female fighters with an adequate number of fights should be able to fight 5 min rounds, taking the same risks guys do.

Arguments to the contrary, even by an MD, are sexist, not scientific. They are part of a long unfortunate chain in this country that confuses biases with science. Borat summed it up pretty well, "Is it not a problem that the woman have a smaller brain than a man? The government scientist Dr Yamuka has proved it is size of squirrel." Ron Burgundy did too: "I'm a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That's what kind of man I am. You're just a woman with a small brain. With a brain a third the size of us. It's science."

It is kind of sad to read an MD making the same goofy statements. Guy probably drives around in a truck with a bear in the back. Scares kids with it :-)

When Katherine Switzer beceme the first woman to run [the Boston Marathon], one of the officials (named Jock :-) tried to drag her out of the race. Her then boyfriend was there, and shoved Jock out of the race.

It took another generation to develop women athletes who could handle the shoving by themselves. I kind of wish a women fighter would shove these male grandmothers out of the way, too.

In the mean time, have a laugh.

Fightlinker also joins the fray, 

The idea that any green male can step into a cage for 15 minute fights while professional female fighters can't hack it is f@#king absurd and Johnny Benjamin is a retard for suggesting it. I don't doubt he's a smart guy in general, but this just goes to show you that even smart people can be ignorant fucks on a fairly regular basis.    

Sorry Doc but I think its time we let the women compete on the same ground as men. Also, this inadvertently proves that there is a passionate fanbase for women's MMA. 

[Update: Note by Zak Woods, 06/24/09 10:41 PM EDT ]

WKR incorrectly reported that the NBA does not have any female referees. The NBA currently has a single female referee.