The Future of Women's MMA at Stake?
by Zak Woods on Jan 29, 2010 4:02 PM EST
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Another Strikeforce female title fight means it is time to overreact and ask if the fate of women's MMA is at stake.
The only relevant female mixed martial arts fighter that's currently active, Cris "Cyborg" Santos, fights this weekend. Did you know that? I did, only because it's my job to know. If I was a casual fan though, I wouldn't have noticed. I would've seen all the news about Herschel Walker and I would've realized Nick Diaz and Bobby Lashley are also on the card, but Cyborg? It would've been a coin flip at best.
Obviously, they can't promote her fight as heavily as they did when she was facing Gina Carano. At the same time, Strikeforce is the biggest promotion showcasing women's MMA. And while it's not there yet, a decision on the future of women's MMA is likely coming soon. Is women's MMA going to be the next women's tennis or the next WNBA?
Dave Meltzer also penned an article entitled, "Women's MMA rests on Santos' shoulders."
While there is a lot of hyperventilating about whether or not the future of women's MMA is at stake, the niche or our niche sport steadily plods forward. Strikeforce is moving ahead with two female tournaments at 135lbs. and 145lbs. plus the promotion will feature a 135lbs. title fight between Sarah Kaufman and Takayo Hashi this February. Not to mention Freestyle Cage Fighting's 135lbs. women's tournament featuring EliteXC veterans Kaitlin Young and Shayna Baszler.
Truth be told women's MMA is still gestating and evolving. There will be road bumps and tough times but Pandora's box has been opened and as long as the fights inside the cage entertain then people will watch.
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If they don’t use this show as a heavy promotional venue for the 135 scrap and other contenders for 145 (at least in the audience Gina/Cyborg-style) we’ll know Strikeforce isn’t confident without Gina. If they want to A) let fans know and B) female fighters know the divisions should be taken seriously they need to treat it like something serious in broadcasts.
The women’s divisions and Fedor are probably their strongest marketing legs to stand on outside of freakshows.
Thanks for the mention...
that there are other promotions out there that include female fights, and that the world does not consist of just UFC and Strikeforce. All one has to do is conduct a simple search on the ‘net and you’ll see all the female fights happening this weekend. They just aren’t as widely publicized yet.
When the writer of that other article said "the only relevant female mixed martial arts fighter that’s currently active, Cris “Cyborg” Santos, fights this weekend" he was just showing his ignorance with respect to female fighters. No insult intended…he just doesn’t know any better, and didn’t bother to do any real research.
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