Issue 067

November 2010

A little more than one year ago, women’s mixed martial arts was preparing for one of the biggest fights in its history as Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos and Gina Carano were tapped to headline a Strikeforce event in August 2009 with the promotion’s first-ever female title on the line.

While both fighters had already performed on TV in bouts contested under the EliteXC and Strikeforce banners, this was different. This was two women in the main event – even with a pair of championship fights in the men’s divisions scheduled for the evening’s main card.

The hype surrounding the fight reached epic proportions, and veteran MMA journalist Loretta Hunt even went as far as to guarantee Carano would “single-handedly garner more press and media attention than UFC 100.”

While the budding superstar certainly did her share to drive attention to the fight the card ultimately drew some 876,000 viewers to tune in to pay channel Showtime, home of hit shows Weeds and The Tudors. But a replay of the landmark UFC 100 event drew two million viewers during the same time slot, despite the fact the UFC event took place more than one month prior.

Since that time, Carano’s and Santos’ paths have taken very different directions. Santos, who claimed the belt with her first-round TKO win that night, fought twice more on Showtime. She’s now widely regarded as one of the best – and certainly most-feared – fighters in the sport. 

Meanwhile, Carano has yet to return to action. Instead the noted beauty is focused on an acting career. UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture said in August he wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Conviction’ – his female apprentice’s little-used nickname – never fights again.

But while the two leading ladies have capitalized on that four minute and 59-second fight in very different ways, what about the sport itself? MMARising.com’s Robert Sargent, a staunch supporter and avid follower of the women’s game, believes female MMA is making great progress. 

“Huge, positive steps have been taken since Gina Carano faced Cyborg last August,” Sargent says. “The number of female fights being held on major MMA cards has increased dramatically, and fans are now able to see some of the top women fighters from all over the world in Strikeforce and Bellator. The Bellator tournament is especially impressive because of the names that are part of it.”

But while positive motions are being made, the women’s game is still treated as a bit of an oddity by many MMA fans and observers. Carano’s popularity, which twice netted CBS some five million viewers to EliteXC when she fought there, has yet to be matched by Santos, fellow Strikeforce stars Sarah Kaufman and Miesha Tate, or anyone else, for that matter.

The world’s largest fight promotion, the UFC, reportedly courted Carano prior to her loss to Santos. Could the UFC single-handedly legitimize women’s MMA by promoting female fights?

“It would have a tremendous, positive effect because fight purses and sponsorships would drastically increase for the female fighters competing in the UFC,” Sargent says. “They would be fighting in front of much larger audiences – both live in the arena and those watching at home – and it’d be much easier for fighters to market themselves and increase their followings in the sport. I think that it’d also help to educate fans who are currently unsure of the women’s division and aren’t aware of the level of talent that is present in some of the weight classes. 

“Megumi Fujii – and that’s ‘Foo-gee’ not ‘Foo-gee-ee,’ Bellator commentators – is one of the most gifted and skilled fighters in mixed martial arts, but many fans weren’t at all familiar with her until she debuted for Bellator. UFC exposure would only increase that tenfold.”

UFC president Dana White has never ruled out promoting women’s MMA, though he’s suggested now is not the time based on a lack of depth in quality. Sargent, a contributor to the Unified Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Rankings, believes that’s a misconception.

“Strikeforce put most of its initial effort into the 145lb women’s division, which is one of the least talent-rich divisions in women’s MMA,” Sargent says. “This is why 135lb fighters have been forced to move up in weight to fight at 145 in Strikeforce. Fans see that and then assume that that translates to all of the other weight classes as well. It doesn’t. 

“The 115 and 135lb divisions have held women’s MMA together for many years. In Japan, the 48kg (106lb) division has also been very popular and the DEEP 106lb women’s title – held by Miku Matsumoto until she retired this year – was arguably the most prestigious women’s title in Japan.”

Athletic women have often struggled to match their male counterparts in popularity. But in mixed martial arts there’s a unique opportunity to promote the two sexes side-by-side.

But similar to the way World Extreme Cagefighting has quickly created male stars in the previously unknown featherweight and bantamweight divisions, Sargent and others believe further buy-in from the sport’s biggest organizations will reap unquestionable benefits for the women’s game.

“The more quality women’s fights on major cards, the better,” Sargent says. “As long as fighters are properly matched-up and there are no gross mismatches, the division improves with each passing fight.”

And as stars are born, the sport can start planning for the next female headliners.

By John Morgan