While men have certainly been dominate in mixed martial arts, women have taken an interest in the sport since the very beginning. It has taken many years for women's fighting to become truly acceptable, and it wasn't even until 2013 that the UFC finally realized that women's MMA could be interesting and profitable. During these last few years, women have emerged as true players in mixed martial arts and not just eye candy holding up round signs.
Clearly, the two recent women's bouts in the UFC have been key moments in the history of women's mixed martial arts. The first bout at UFC 157 was the main event of the night, a bout between Liz Carmouche and Ronda Rousey. At UFC 168, the women were still on the main card, although Rousey and opponent Meisha Tate were set as the fight prior to the big event of the night, the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. Of course, there probably aren't any fighters in mixed martial arts today who wouldn't have come in second to that bout.
The creation of Invicta Fighting Championships in 2012 is definitely a mark showing that there is enough interest in women's MMA to warrant the creation of an organization solely for female fighters. Whether or not Invicta has staying power remains to be seen, but it generated enough interest for Dana White to open up a strawweight division and sign nearly a dozen of Invicta's best strawweights to UFC contracts.
There are few people on this earth who dislike each other more than Ronda Rousey and Meisha Tate. This is no doubt why Dana White decided to choose them as the coaches for season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter. Whatever the reason and whatever drama exists between these two fighters, this was a milestone because it was the first time that women were chosen as the coaches of this show.
It's not just in mixed martial arts where the women are gaining steam. Other specific martial arts have seen a boom in the number of women heading to martial arts gyms and competing. Muay Thai, for example, has become quite popular for women, and the fights are drawing a lot of interest. One of the country's top organizations for Muay Thai, Lion Fight, set a bout between Tiffany Van Soest and opponent Caley Reece as the headliners for an event early in 2014. Van Soest is considered to be on the nation's best Muay Thai kickboxers, regardless of gender.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu also has its fair share of exceptional female athletes competing for various titles. Leticia Ribeiro, for example, has won more than one dozen jiu-jitsu championships. As a light featherweight, Ribeiro has won the World Brazilian Jiu-Jistu Championship for her division for the last four years.
Clearly, the two recent women's bouts in the UFC have been key moments in the history of women's mixed martial arts. The first bout at UFC 157 was the main event of the night, a bout between Liz Carmouche and Ronda Rousey. At UFC 168, the women were still on the main card, although Rousey and opponent Meisha Tate were set as the fight prior to the big event of the night, the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman. Of course, there probably aren't any fighters in mixed martial arts today who wouldn't have come in second to that bout.
The creation of Invicta Fighting Championships in 2012 is definitely a mark showing that there is enough interest in women's MMA to warrant the creation of an organization solely for female fighters. Whether or not Invicta has staying power remains to be seen, but it generated enough interest for Dana White to open up a strawweight division and sign nearly a dozen of Invicta's best strawweights to UFC contracts.
There are few people on this earth who dislike each other more than Ronda Rousey and Meisha Tate. This is no doubt why Dana White decided to choose them as the coaches for season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter. Whatever the reason and whatever drama exists between these two fighters, this was a milestone because it was the first time that women were chosen as the coaches of this show.
It's not just in mixed martial arts where the women are gaining steam. Other specific martial arts have seen a boom in the number of women heading to martial arts gyms and competing. Muay Thai, for example, has become quite popular for women, and the fights are drawing a lot of interest. One of the country's top organizations for Muay Thai, Lion Fight, set a bout between Tiffany Van Soest and opponent Caley Reece as the headliners for an event early in 2014. Van Soest is considered to be on the nation's best Muay Thai kickboxers, regardless of gender.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu also has its fair share of exceptional female athletes competing for various titles. Leticia Ribeiro, for example, has won more than one dozen jiu-jitsu championships. As a light featherweight, Ribeiro has won the World Brazilian Jiu-Jistu Championship for her division for the last four years.
About the Author:
Rod Bourgoine enjoys writing about mixed martial arts benefits. For more information about martial arts San Diego or to find San Diego boxing classes, go to The Arena MMA site now.
No comments:
Post a Comment