Issue 122

December 2014

Last month questions were raised about the way female fighters are being marketed and promoted in the sport. The debate was sparked by a trailer used to launch the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter – the first to comprise an entire cast of female strawweights – during which the tagline “easy on the eyes and hard on the face” accompanied images of the fighters dressed in high heels and short skirts.

Gareth A Davies

MMA and Boxing Correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, London, UK, asks why sexuality comes into selling female fighting

It was all very America’s Next Top Model. But, amid images of beauty and seduction, were mouthguards, hand wraps, hooded tops and fierce faces. There were flying knees and punches.

Yet, still some didn’t like the message. They didn’t like the theory that a female fighter is judged on appearance first and ability second.

They felt the UFC was shooting for the lowest common denominator – just as it did back in the ‘90s, when attempts were made to sell MMA as an underground and taboo blood sport – and that the looks of a female shouldn’t be used as their unique selling point regardless of the need to promote, advertise and find some sort of niche.

Then along came Rin Nakai, the Japanese fighter… and it all seemed rather tame in comparison. Nakai, of course, made her Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 52, losing a decision to Miesha Tate. But her impact was far greater than anything she produced in a relatively tepid display.

Her impact owed more to her choice of attire – a prom girl dress at the press conference, a suit of armor and high heels for the weigh-in – as well as a number of online videos she’d recorded when fighting for Pancrase in Japan.

In these videos she’d be dressed in rabbit costumes or seductively eating a yoghurt. It was all very Japanese, all very Manga. And, perhaps for that reason, Nakai’s attempts to promote herself have been viewed as more humorous and bizarre than damaging or degrading. It is viewed as a cultural thing.

Less about sex appeal, more about imagination and creativity.

But put Ronda Rousey in those same costumes and the world of sport, in my view, would react differently. Women’s groups may even be up in arms. No longer would it all be considered tongue in cheek and a bit of fun. Instead, it would likely be deemed a desperate attempt to flaunt sexuality in the hope of grabbing attention.

Double standards? Maybe. Nakai’s saving grace, above anything else, is that what she chooses to do is completely different and unique, at least in the world of MMA. It’s total individuality. For that, we should embrace it.

And, let’s be honest, there are far bigger problems in the sport than bunny ears and high heels.

A CHAMPION’S ATTITUDE

If it’s role models you’re after, look no further than former world bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Before his late September return against Takeya Mizugaki, Cruz’s last appearance in the Octagon could be dated back to October 1st, 2011, the night he danced rings around a game but outclassed Demetrious Johnson in Washington, DC.

That was his fourth-straight defense of his UFC world bantamweight champion and, at the time, he looked about as invincible as any title-holder out there. He was that good.

But, soon after, the tide started to turn for Cruz. First he was forced to pull out of a scheduled fight against Urijah Faber in July 2012 citing a torn ACL. Two surgeries followed. Then, in January 2014, a month away from his comeback in February, Cruz tore his groin and was forced to sit out again. Alas, his title became vacant.

From there, the unfortunate Cruz embarked on a journey of self-discovery and admitted to me he hit “rock bottom” on more than one occasion. Now over the worst of it, though, ‘The Dominator’ is back competing and all the happier for it.

It remains to be seen whether he can reach the giddy heights of 2011, but one thing’s for sure – he’s a better, stronger and wiser man as a result of his journey. He now sees his fighting career, he told me, “as a part of his life journey.” A champion’s attitude. 

Physically, mentally and as we have recently learnt, emotionally, we could do with many more ‘champions’ like Cruz in the sport.