I know Ronda Rousey has enormous star potential, but her UFC debut shouldn’t be the headline bout of UFC 157.
It is groundbreaking because the fight represents a milestone for women’s MMA, but from a pure fighting standpoint, this matchup doesn’t measure up to the standards one should have for a UFC pay-per-view main event.
Rousey would have to be considered the premier female MMA fighter in the world, but Liz Carmouche doesn’t have the resume to be included in this fight.
She’s 7-2, but those two losses have come in her most recent fights. The latest defeat came at the hands of Sarah Kaufman, a woman Rousey easily defeated in her last bout.
How can MMA fans be excited to see Rousey‘s debut, when her opponent is someone that shouldn’t be able to challenge her?
This match comes off as a cheap way to get Rousey over with the UFC audience. As a matter of fact, it could be taken as an insult to MMA fans’ knowledge of the women’s game.
I don’t think anyone is disputing that Rousey is the woman to beat in the sport, but she is also one of the few female names most MMA fans have ever heard of. That level of ignorance is being exploited here.
If Rousey is top dog, then Carmouche is somewhere in the middle of the pack—or even at the bottom of the division. Essentially, this fight could be compared to Anderson Silva taking on someone like Tom DeBlass in a main event.
I strongly believe that matchup would raise some eyebrows if it was packaged to MMA fans as a bout worthy of headlining a pay-per-view.
We all know Silva is perhaps the best fighter in the world, but DeBlass is middle of the road at best as far as middleweight contenders are concerned. There really isn’t much difference between the two matchups.
Since many MMA fans are unaware of many of the fighters in the woman’s bantamweight division, does that make this fight more acceptable as a main event?
That shouldn’t be the case.
Rousey‘s debut has every right getting a good amount of attention, but as fights go, this should be one of the bouts featured on F/X.
In the end, it is always about money, and I understand that. But I just hope Dana White doesn’t try to sell us on how great and intriguing this fight should be.
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