Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world, and within that sport, women’s MMA is growing faster than anything else.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is largely deserving of the credit for this expansion, as her incredible combination of physical prowess, beauty and personality have made her both appealing and accessible by fight fans across the world.
All things worked out for Dana White and Co. as the main event of UFC 157 was thrilling, competitive and not overly-violent. Critics and fans alike have praised the contest, which outshined almost every other bout on the card.
Rousey has already grabbed our attention over the course of the last year, but now that she has broken the glass ceiling and no longer has the burden of making WMMA acceptable in the mainstream, can she convince fans to keep tuning in?
Like sushi, WMMA is something that you won’t know if you like until you try it. Despite the positive reviews that came back on this event, here at Bleacher Report, we have received our fair share of comments from readers who couldn’t stomach watching women punch each other.
The questions is whether or not those viewers will be willing to tune in again.
In addition, there doesn’t seem to be much hope of this division staying fresh.
Without a talented pool of contenders, the UFC women’s bantamweight division will soon run into the same problems that the flyweight division is having. The cream always rises to the top, and without more depth in the roster pool, we are currently destined to watch a lot of rematches at the top of the division.
In no way do I want to sound pessimistic, but I think WMMA is similar to boxing in the fact that there is only one major star whom fans are willing to pay to see. Rousey is our version of Floyd Mayweather.
Then again, Mayweather still draws more than 1,000,000 pay-per-view buys regardless of who he fights, so I guess there are worse people in which to be compared.
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