Rory MacDonald isn’t watching much women’s MMA these days unless the bout features UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey.
The armbar-snatching, blonde-headed bombshell’s star power can be matched with that of any male currently competing in the UFC. She continues to kick butt and take names while looking glamorous in the act.
Unfortunately, the same has yet to be said about the other women on the UFC roster.
Rousey appears to be a big fish in a small pond with the exception of Miesha Tate, who has already dropped two matches to the champ. MacDonald, a fighter who thrives on the subtle technical aspects of fighting, has a deep appreciation for Rousey‘s grappling-heavy approach in the fight game.
“Her judo’s really impressive, how she uses it in MMA. And I’m not a fan of women’s MMA. I just don’t watch it,” MacDonald said during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “She’s the only one that I’m like, wow, super-skilled. I like watching skilled fighters, and I think she uses her skill super-well.”
Perhaps the most prevalent criticism surrounding women’s MMA has been a knock on the lack of technical efficiency demonstrated on fight night. MacDonald admittedly leans in a similar direction when it comes to his overall disinterest in watching the ladies throw down.
I find it that they fight with a lot of emotion, and sometimes the technique gets thrown out the backdoor a lot of the time. Not all of the time. And don’t get me wrong, I respect them. They fight hard. It’s no joke. But it’s not something that I watch a lot.
A counter-argument could be made that women’s MMA is actually even more exciting due to the typical brawling style. Unlike many of the guys on the UFC roster, the ladies aren’t afraid to get after it.
As the saying goes, to each his own.
Some fighters have forever endeared themselves to fans with years of being overaggressive and fighting recklessly while others have turned people off with sloppy technique and sluggish footwork.
There are fighters, MacDonald included, who wow a plethora of fans with a chess-like approach against world-class opposition. But for some, a MacDonald fight might carry a similar effect of popping a couple of NyQuil capsules before bedtime.
MacDonald is certainly on the right track in naming Rousey as one of the few, if not the only, “super-skilled” fighter currently competing in women’s MMA. Everyone else is playing checkers, and Rousey is playing chess.
But as always, things change and evolve over time. We long remember the days of barefisted slugfests featuring potbellied UFC fighters. Women’s MMA has only existed for a year in the UFC.
Let’s give it some time.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
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