Certainly one of the big unknowns after this past weekends announcement that the Strikeforce promotion had been purchased by Zuffa, owners of the rival Ultimate Fighting Championship, is the future of Strikeforce’s female fighters.
UFC President Dana White stated in an interview that things will be “business as usual” but it’s a well known fact that he sees no future for women combatants in his promotion.
MMAFighting.com had the opportunity to talk to several of the sports well known female stars about the Zuffa deal, speaking to current women’s welterweight champ Marloes Coenen, former champ Sarah Kaufman, and women’s tournament winner Miesha Tate.
Marloes Coenen
“I believe that with the knowledge of the UFC, Strikeforce will grow even larger. If Dana and the others see that women can bring him money, it will be good for us. What we need are the role models like Gina Carano and Miesha and hopefully me, as well, that women can relate to. …I truly believe that if they can get the women’s audience, and if they can identify with a girl next door like me or Miesha, then the female fanbase, which is way more loyal than the men are, will only grow from there. That’s the way I think Dana and Zuffa should look at it.”
Sarah Kaufman
“There have been some really exciting fights that the females have put on. I’m positive that Dana White and [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva and the whole crew have kept an eye on shows where there are female fights, and I’m sure they know that there are some good female fights out there…I really hope that maybe the fans or anyone who can help push the females, I really hope that they stand up for us and prove to Zuffa that they want to see us. Then hopefully they’ll listen and we’ll get to stay.”
Miesha Tate
“I know Dana White isn’t a huge women’s fighting advocate at all, and I know he’s saying he’ll honor the contracts, so immediately I don’t think anything is going to change. But I’m a little concerned about when renegotiations come around for the women. I don’t know how he’s going to weigh our value and how we’re going to get paid. I’m also more concerned about the big picture when the Showtime contract ends for Strikeforce.”