Photo/Forza LLC via Getty ImagesChances are that if you know nothing else about women's MMA, you know that there was once a very scary-looking Brazilian woman with a nickname reminiscent of RoboCop.
Until last Friday, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos was the face of women's MMA. Her six year, 10-fight win streak made her the class of the Strikeforce 145-pound division and forced Scot Coker and other executives to cultivate one competitive, or marketable matchup for her every six months. Last month it was jiu-jitsu ace and Japanese legend, Hiroko "Cat's Eye" Yamanaka, a fighter that at least a few pundits thought could give Cyborg a test -- maybe bloody the champ's nose, or threaten with a submission.
Yamanaka was unconscious in 16 seconds, the latest victim of Cyborg's right hand.
But then came last week's announcement that the reigning pound-for-pound women's champ had tested positive for stanozolol, a steroid metabolite banned by nearly every professional sporting league in the world. Cyborg went on to release a statement that the drug found her way into her supplements, but as many doctors and nutritionists have pointed out, those explanations are somewhat fantastical.
Dana White, speaking on behalf of Zuffa Inc., has indicated that in the wake of Cyborg's suspension he would likely shudder the 145-pound women's division. It's a decision he says is based in a lack of attractive and available talent. Cyborg was the face of the organization and in his opinion few names remained to carry the burden. Of course it's difficult not to cry foul when White, a vocal opponent of female MMA, is the one announcing the decision.
Unfortunately, there is a belief among fight executives that at least two things are true. First, that both men and women don't want to pay to see pretty women batter each other with their fists; and second, that women should not be fighting in the first place.
The marketability of women fighters is only starting to be understood. It's ironic that the organizations governing MMA would detect a lack of marketability on the women's side in the same month that former MMA superstar Gina Carano begins her movie career by starring in a big budget Steven Soderbergh film, "Haywire." The movie isn't small peanuts, it's cast is potentially the biggest of 2012; Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, and Antonio Banderas are just some of the top-billed actors. People will go to theaters and they will see a former MMA superstar alongside "The American President" and "Zorro." The popularity of "Haywire" should spark at least some interest in female MMA. However, since the Cyborg drug test and subsequent response from Zuffa, any Google search for "women's MMA" is likelier to pull up stories of contraction, than stories of celebration. Were the organizations even-handed (as they are with the men -- all the recent rape jokesters are still employed) they'd instead have pushed to celebrate the impressive resumes and insane marketability of Ronda Rousey and Meisha Tate, who are scheduled to fisticuff March 3 in Columbus, Ohio. The two fighters have even been falling into the Zuffa model by embroiling themselves in a Twitter war that has earned thousands of new followers for the fighters.
Another major concern is the lingering culture of female protectionism that informs the decision-making of executives in charge of female sports, and those with involvement in any type of female contact sport (wrestling, judo, MMA, rugby). Women are not fragile; they are not all concerned with their periods and the health of their nail beds. Most of the women who are flocking in record numbers to jiu-jitsu gyms and rugby fields are searching for the same catharsis -- the same physical release from the stresses of the day -- as their male counterparts. The paternalism inherent in limiting the contact sports opportunities of women at both the amateur (NCAA) and professional (MMA) level should be met with disgust. Women have a place in the cage no matter if it disagrees with the antiquated gender roles imagined by a few knuckle-dragging troglodytes.
Fans want to see talented and motivated fighters battle each other for 15-25 minutes inside a cage, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. MMA executives should take note that not unlike their male counterparts, the majority of the women who populate the ranks of MMA are witty, attractive and marketable, which means given the platform they'll be able to sell their fights to the fans.
The dissolution of the 145-pound class would also mean that fight fans won't get to see the most exciting new talent in women's MMA, undefeated 2004 Olympic silver medalist wrestler Sara McMann. She's currently fighting in ProElite, but to think that she could possibly face off against former Olympic judo medalist Ronda Rousey is enough to make a true MMA fan half-giddy. Talented, professionally trained fighters is exactly what the MMA world enjoys. Fans and pundits love a contrast of styles, especially when performed by two of their best practitioners. Even though a 135-pound title might be in her future, Rousey hasn't been in the cage for longer than 57 seconds and has ended each of her eight fights with an arm bar submission. When it comes to dominance, gender shouldn't be a factor, especially when it's a matchup that could generate enormous viewership.
Women fighters deserve a chance to see their sport grow. It was only six years ago that the UFC was struggling to turn a major profit on its male side -- now the company has a $700 million television deal with FOX and the most talented pool of any MMA organization. Given time and incentives fight fans will see an equal access to talent on the women's side with more former Olympians bringing their talents to the cage.
Former MMA stars like Carano and even the embattled Cyborg brought the sport of women's MMA mostly by encompassing polar opposites of the female fighting spectrum, the former a beautiful burgeoning movie star, the latter an intimidating almost comical impersonation of fitness. The future of women's MMA doesn't exist in these boundaries, it's square on the shoulders of well-trained super-athletes who are attractive and marketable and at least somewhat normal. The women have done the work, now it's time for the promotional leaders of the sport to recognize and reward that growth, rather than destroy it out of pettiness or gender bias.
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