Author: Joe Chacon

Why Ronda Rousey Will Be the First Female Fighter in the UFC

Dana White has long believed that Women’s Mixed Martial Arts was not ready to become a legitimate professional sport because the talent pools are too thin. Over the last twelve months, Dana appears to have his opinion of WMMA evolve into what coul…

Dana White has long believed that Women’s Mixed Martial Arts was not ready to become a legitimate professional sport because the talent pools are too thin.

Over the last twelve months, Dana appears to have his opinion of WMMA evolve into what could lead to seeing a female fight on a UFC fight card in the near future.

Take a look at how Dana’s point of view of WMMA has progressed. This is what he had to say about WMMA last year:

“There’s this big misconception out there about me that I don’t like women’s fighting and everything else. I have no problem with women’s fighting. The problem right now, it was a problem with boxing and it’s a problem with MMA right now is you don’t have enough women that are good enough to create an entire division. So what you get is you get a couple of women who are really good, and a lot of women who really aren’t. And I don’t like lopsided fights, especially with women. So as this sport continues to grow, if there are more and more women where you can actually create an entire division with a lot of talented women, I’m all about it.”

Dana has never bashed the future of WMMA, but whenever he is asked about the future of females in the UFC he dismisses the notion because there aren’t enough good female MMA fighters according to him.

If you take a look at WMMA over the last three years, it does become evident that there have been stars in the making that have not panned out. Of course we are talking about Gina Carano, Cyborg Santos, and now Ronda Rousey.

 

Dana White didn’t quite jump on the Carano and Santos hype train, and as it turns out, that was yet another wise decision for him.

Carano was last seen in the cage covering up as Santos earned a TKO victory over her. Santos is currently serving a one year suspension for failing a drug test. Rousey is the current face of WMMA.

Is it really far fetched to think Dana will put Rousey in the UFC? I don’t think so.

Here is what Dana said following the much anticipated fight between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate:

“I’ll tell you right now and I will be 100% honest with you, I was never a fan (of women’s MMA). But I will tell you this, being honest, Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate have changed my mind, they have changed my mind. I was excited for that fight, it was an awesome fight, they both looked like two skilled mixed martial artists and they changed my mind.”

Strikeforce is fading fast, there is no denying that. Their contract with Showtime is far from a guarantee to be renewed, and once that goes, you can put the nail in the coffin for Strikeforce.

Dana is not going to let Rousey get far from the UFC. In fact I believe if Rousey wins her first title defense against Sarah Kaufman later this year, Dana will make a push to get Rousey and Cyborg Santos on a UFC pay-per-view card.

 

Santos will be done serving her one year suspension in January 2013, which will be right about the time Rousey would be looking to have her next fight after Kaufman.

Dana is smart enough to know that he can have Rousey in the UFC without having to fill out a complete roster of WMMA fighters immediately.

For as bad as Strikeforce is now, the promotion has done a good job of bringing WMMA to a greater audience. The respect for the female fighter is far greater than it was even three years ago.

My suggestion would be to create a TUF series with Ronda Rousey and Cyborg Santos as the opposing coaches and have them build up towards the inaugural UFC Women’s Championship fight between the two.

The talent pool of WMMA is growing at a rapid pace. Promotions such as Invicta FC are only going to help get more females interested in MMA and continue the evolution of the sport.

Whether it is through the UFC or something like Invicta FC, WMMA is going to thrive.

Oh, and Dana, never say never.

 

Follow Joe Chacon on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Why the UFC Should Never Get Rid of the Ultimate Fighter

It’s not breaking news that this season’s The Ultimate Fighter is having a hard time in the ratings department in its inaugural  There are many reasons why the show isn’t rating well, but it is surprising to see many MMA fans say the show should b…

It’s not breaking news that this season’s The Ultimate Fighter is having a hard time in the ratings department in its inaugural  There are many reasons why the show isn’t rating well, but it is surprising to see many MMA fans say the show should be scrapped altogether.

The show isn’t being scrapped, in fact Dana White stated late last week that the fall version of TUF is going to take place in Australia. Dubbed “The Smashes,” it will play on the U.K. vs. Australia theme. The specific details on the format have yet to be announced, however.

The Ultimate Fighter is still as important to the growth of the UFC as it was during the show’s infancy. If you’ve been a fan of MMA for the better part of the last decade, the effect the show has on the casual viewer may be hard to see.

The UFC should never get rid of TUF no matter how low the ratings get. They just need to keep reworking the format to keep it fresh and entertaining.

TUF: Live  has no doubt been one of the least interesting TUF seasons to date. Team coaches Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber don’t produce the on-camera spark we’ve seen from coaches in past seasons. In addition, it appears the Friday night air time isn’t working.

Personally, I love the idea of having a live UFC fight every Friday night and I hope Dana White keeps working the format. Unfortunately, taping the show during the week and quickly editing it together to align with the live fight broadcast is taking away from the show itself.

Part of the intrigue with TUF from the very beginning was seeing how the fighters interacted with each other in “the house.” Viewers were able to attach themselves to a storyline of one of the fighters and become invested in how they did on the show and tournament.

It’s really no different than any other show on television—viewers come back because they want to see their favorite character. Aside from a couple of the fighters, we’ve been stripped of that this season.

Years ago there was a push to reduce the amount of air time from what was happening inside the house. Instead, the focus became training sessions and the fights. I agreed with that move at first, but now it is evident we need to see it changed back to the old format.

The show seems redundant now. The viewer gets a recap of the previous episode, then a short segment on what is going on in the house, followed by what seems to be an excessive amount of commercials, and before you know it, it’s fight time.

It will be interesting to see how the UFC handles the next season of TUF. Perhaps they will spend more time developing storylines and focusing less on the “live” aspect of the fights.

While TUF is still very important to the company, a different format needs to be developed for the show that will bring in new fans but also keep the interest of the current ones.

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Why WMMA Could Be the Ticket to Mainstream Acceptance of MMA

Over the past decade the terms “MMA” and “mainstream” have been used quite often with each other. The debate on whether or not MMA is mainstream will continue for many years to come. Even when MMA hits mainstream status, will we know it? What does…

Over the past decade the terms “MMA” and “mainstream” have been used quite often with each other. The debate on whether or not MMA is mainstream will continue for many years to come.

Even when MMA hits mainstream status, will we know it? What does mainstream even mean?

By definition, mainstream is defined as follows:

The ideas, attitudes, or activities that are regarded as normal or conventional; the dominant trend in opinion, fashion, or the arts.

Okay, we have the definition, now let’s see if MMA meets the requirements:

Regarded as normal or conventional? FALSE

The dominant trend in opinion, fashion, or the arts? FALSE

MMA appears to be a ways away from achieving this defined mainstream status, and once fans step outside of their MMA bubble it becomes evident just how little most of the world knows about MMA.

MMA is perceived as a male dominated sport, and rightfully so, it is. However, unlike other professional sports, there aren’t teams to rally around and going to the fights is not something most families think of for a fun night out.

 

Imagine if Women’s Mixed Martial Arts went beyond Ronda Rousey. If the talent pool begins to fill up with fighters who take up the headlines the way Rousey does, WMMA could develop a lot of momentum that would help the mainstream acceptance of MMA as a whole.

Say what you will about women’s sports, but the success of WMMA can go a long way in helping MMA promotions such as the UFC get into more households.

Recently there has been a surge in the number of young women training in various disciplines of mixed martial arts. If you are fortunate enough to have a UFC Gym near you, take a look at the judo, muay thai, and bjj classes and you are bound to see that half the class are females.

There is something soothing to society about a female participating in a sport that is otherwise dominated by men. It helps give the impression that somehow the sport is safer, and it also gives those young girls somebody to look up to.

As it stands now, WMMA is trying to get itself off the ground. Ronda Rousey versus Miesha Tate was the biggest event in the history of their sport. What appears most alarming is having the entire WMMA hinge on Rousey’s armbar.

There is a wave of hope, however. A female only MMA promotion called Invicta FC recently wrapped up their first card in Kansas City, KS.

Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp appears to have the passion and business plan to at least give WMMA its best opportunity to become a mainstay in the MMA world.

Perhaps the mainstream acceptance of the UFC is more dependant on Invicta’s success than most think.

 

Follow Joe Chacon on Twitter @JoeChacon

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

B/R Official Rankings for May: The Top 10 Middleweights in MMA

UFC fans have their eyes set on UFC 148 in what looks to be one of the best cards in the history of the promotion. Chael Sonnen will look to secure his legacy in the sport in his long awaited rematch against Anderson Silva. With plenty of action schedu…

UFC fans have their eyes set on UFC 148 in what looks to be one of the best cards in the history of the promotion.

Chael Sonnen will look to secure his legacy in the sport in his long awaited rematch against Anderson Silva.

With plenty of action scheduled to take place in the MMA world before that event, let’s take a look at where the best middleweights in the world rank on our official list.

These rankings are the combined efforts of some of Bleacher Report MMA’s best writers, as we continue to try and provide you with the best content on the web.

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@BadBoyTickle and the 10 Funniest Twitter Handles in MMA

It appears most MMA fighters have a Twitter account nowadays. Some fighters use Twitter for practical purposes such as notifying fans when they are doing a signing. There are those who use it as an outlet for comedy. Others will post the most rand…

It appears most MMA fighters have a Twitter account nowadays.

Some fighters use Twitter for practical purposes such as notifying fans when they are doing a signing. There are those who use it as an outlet for comedy. Others will post the most random facts about life you’ll ever care to know.

If you follow a number of fighters on Twitter, you’ll notice some of them have a hilarious Twitter handle. A “handle” for those who aren’t familiar is basically the “user name.”

After scouring every MMA fighter who I knew was on Twitter, I came up with a list of 10 handles that appear to be the funniest.

This list doesn’t take into actual content of their Twitter accounts. For example, Forrest Griffin tweets some of the funniest things you’ll read on any MMA feed but his handle is @ForrestGriffin. That’s not what we’re looking for with this list.

Here are the 10 best (in no particular order).

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Do Celebrity MMA Fans Hurt or Help the Sport?

Believe it or not, MMA fans are a very sensitive bunch.There was a bit of an uproar when the UFC theme music was replaced by the FOX anthem. They shook their heads when the fighter’s twitter handle started to appear under his win-loss record upon enter…

Believe it or not, MMA fans are a very sensitive bunch.

There was a bit of an uproar when the UFC theme music was replaced by the FOX anthem. They shook their heads when the fighter’s twitter handle started to appear under his win-loss record upon entering the Octagon. Some are still upset that the UFC brought in Brock Lesnar and gave him a title shot after only three professional fights.

All of these things pale in comparison to the irritation MMA fans show when the camera zooms in on a celebrity sitting cage side.

MMA evolved from a world away from the trendy glitz and glamour of tabloids, and most fans of the sport would rather not see the two cross with each other.

We’re familiar with the regulars, Michael Clarke Duncan and Kevin James. Those two have been seen at seemingly every UFC event over the last decade. Is Duncan known for anything besides The Green Mile yet?

I don’t mind seeing Duncan and James at the events. They were there before the sport really trekked into the mainstream, and although their stars have fallen over the years, they are very knowledgeable of the sport.

What made me cringe was the red carpet show FOX put on before the Velasquez-Dos Santos fight late last year. It always appears that these D-list celebrities are showing up more for the free tickets than they are for the sport.

In talking with other MMA fans, there is something about seeing Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber, or Mandy Moore that gives the sport a cheapened feel to it. But does it bring in new viewers?

Celebrity MMA fans do serve a purpose. They help dispel the notion that the sport is only for men who enjoy street fighting. Yes, if you venture outside of your MMA bubble, you will find that the stereotypes of MMA are still there. 

At times celebrities can be very annoying, but as long as you are secure with where you stand as an MMA fan, there is no reason why seeing them on camera at MMA events should bother you.

Celebrities will ultimately bring in a few casual fans to the sport and help shape the image that MMA is for more than just the 18-49 male demographic.

Just one request…please no Kathy Griffin.

 

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