(Sorry Cyborg, you can’t come.)
Many of you are likely familiar with a Brazilian based promotion called Jungle Fight; through it we have witnessed Jose Aldo’s only professional loss, Machida vs. Bonnar, and the humble beginnings of such fighters as Paulo Thiago, Thales Leites, and Ronaldo Souza. Created and currently run by former fighter Wallid Ismail, Jungle Fight has grown to become a regular feature of ESPN Deportes, and will be looking to branch out into the world of women’s mixed martial arts when it debuts an all woman promotion, audaciously labeled Pink Fight MMA, on January 29th.
That’s right. Pink Fight MMA.
The card will feature six fights and is headlined by a 125 pound clash between 4-2 Shooto veteran Maria Elisabete “Beth” Tavares and 2-3-1 muay Thai striker Kalindra Carvalho Faria. The affair will transpire at the Descobrimento Cultural Event Center in Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil. Ismail released a statement on the promotion’s big debut, declaring that, “I’m sure that Pink Fight will reveal new talents and encourage other women to become professional fighters.” Truly a man of his word, Pink Fight’s official website has already begun accepting applications, so if you have a little sister in need of a disciplinary lesson that simply cannot be taught in the household, sign them up today.
The upstart promotion has already found its fair share of advocates, starting with long time MMA supporter and Brazilian Senator Magno Matla, who has publicly come out in favor of an all woman MMA league, stating the following:
Such a big nation with the potential to create champions deserved a female promotion. We have a lot of examples to follow, [like] world No. 1 Cris ‘Cyborg’ [Santos] and our president, who is also a woman. Brazil has a lot of female representatives who make us proud and now it’s time to create MMA idols, too.
While Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff is undoubtedly an inspiration for women worldwide, you might want to reserve judgement on Cyborg, Mr. Malta. Don’t get us wrong, the woman is being made an example of, but that’s not exactly the same thing.
What say you, Potato Nation? Is Pink Fight destined to become the Mecca of women’s MMA, or will it fall face down in the mud, nay, the YAMMA pit? Let’s hope it’s the former.
-Danga