Women’s MMA has proven its ability to produce mainstream stars.
| 📷: Dave Mandel/Sherdog
Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of
Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company,
Evolve Media.
* * *
Let’s start with the classic good news, bad news trope.
First, the good news: It’s rare for an
Ultimate Fighting Championship Apex card to feature a potential
title eliminator, but we’re fortunate to get one this weekend at
UFC Vegas 124.
The bad news is that hardly anyone seems to care, including the
UFC. Despite Virna
Jandiroba and Tatiana
Suarez being among the best at 115 pounds, they aren’t getting
the main event treatment for such a high-stakes contest. Such is
the state of women’s mixed martial arts today.
The UFC refuses to address the issue head-on, but women’s MMA is in
a major lull. Follow enough MMA talking heads on social media and
you’ll inevitably encounter someone wishing the UFC would eliminate
its women’s divisions. Given the number of people who agree with
them, the idea isn’t as fringe as you might think. I’m sure some of
you reading this are nodding along.
Why the UFC needs new women’s MMA stars rather than abandoning
divisions that once produced Ronda Rousey
It isn’t as though the UFC is unaware of this, either. In the past
three years, only one numbered card has been headlined by women:
UFC 332 last month. Given how recent it was, I don’t think I need
to remind anyone how many fans and pundits called it the worst
numbered UFC event ever before it even happened. The card
ultimately delivered 11 knockouts, a UFC single-event record, but
that entertainment came despite what I found to be an uninspiring
main event between Natalia
Silva and Cong
Wang.
I don’t think the UFC is right to downgrade women’s fights this
way. I don’t like it at all. But I understand the business
rationale given where women’s MMA currently stands. Those
advocating for the UFC to abandon it altogether, however, are being
foolish. Don’t they remember that one of the UFC’s biggest stars
before Conor
McGregor was a woman?
Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano proved women’s MMA can draw
mainstream attention
Ronda
Rousey was a generational talent who captured mainstream
attention in a way I doubt we’ll see another female MMA fighter
replicate. It would be foolhardy to assume the next Rousey is
around the corner. I’m not expecting that, and neither should
anyone else. But is a fighter who can capture even a fifth of that
attention too much to ask for? That would be a boon compared with
the attention today’s top female fighters receive.
That isn’t intended as disrespect toward Kayla
Harrison and Amanda
Nunes — the top two female stars on the UFC roster, in my
estimation — but they aren’t drawing viewers in droves.
Regardless of how many viewers women bring to the UFC now, history
shows they can attract a substantial audience. Eliminating their
divisions isn’t the answer. Promotions such as the PFL would
happily scoop up the talent and benefit from doing so. Even if
women’s MMA isn’t that popular at the moment, it still has an
audience. Add the possibility of another Rousey or Gina Carano
emerging, and there’s no way in hell the UFC abandons women’s MMA.
That’s before considering the public relations nightmare such a
decision would create.
Why personality, authenticity and promotion matter as much as
winning in the UFC
If women’s MMA isn’t going anywhere, what can the UFC do? Push it
too hard without someone fans embrace, and its detractors may
resent it even more. What made fans latch onto Rousey? Winning was
an obvious factor. Before Holly Holm
ended her unbeaten run, Rousey had gone beyond the first round only
once. But her attitude mattered, too. She wasn’t afraid to say what
she thought about her opponents, and her hostility seemed genuine.
Some might call that immaturity — I would — but it felt authentic
and made people take notice. Even those desperate to see her lose
cared about the outcome. Her looks didn’t hurt, either.
Speaking of looks, Carano was one of the first women to attract
major mainstream attention in MMA. She didn’t reach Rousey’s level
of fame through fighting, but she attracted enough attention to
launch a Hollywood career. Rousey didn’t necessarily shy away from
her sex appeal, though she didn’t make it the centerpiece of her
image. Could some women on the roster use that approach? I’m not
suggesting anything pornographic, of course. But using sex appeal
to attract male viewers, then letting the fighting keep their
attention, is a promotional option. A fighter’s own sexual
orientation need not determine whom she markets herself to.
The UFC must give its female fighters a reason for fans to
care
Everyone has different talents, gifts and boundaries, so that
approach won’t suit everyone. Nor is it the only way to get
attention. Authenticity helped Rousey, but it isn’t a prerequisite
for building an audience. Just ask Chael
Sonnen, Colby
Covington or Josh Hokit.
Hokit’s performances have earned him a title shot just over a year
into his UFC career, while his trash talk has helped keep him in
the spotlight. Next week, he headlines ahead of Harrison and Nunes.
Even people who dislike him may tune in hoping someone forcefully
shuts his mouth. As the television show “Dynasty” taught us,
viewers enjoy seeing a villain get slapped, too.
I understand that these suggestions would push many women far
outside their comfort zones. In my experience, growth often
requires that. Rousey’s unwillingness to change her approach after
losing her title remains, to me, a cautionary example. Given how
stale women’s MMA feels right now, fighters willing to try
something different could separate themselves from the pack. After
all, success rarely comes cheaply.