Sara McMann, The 2004 Olympic Games silver medalist in wrestling, is the next female star of mixed martial arts.
Let’s back up a step or two and I will tell you why.
The two biggest ingredients of being a star are the ability to perform at a high level and the ability to sell a fight. McMann, through her first five fights, has shown promise in both of those characteristics. However, there is more to it than that.
Fighters need a platform to reach a wider audience. While Bellator has some of the top women of lower weight classes fighting under their banner they do not promote them enough to showcase them. Go ask any casual MMA fan or a friend to see if he or she watched Jessica Aguilar fight Megumi Fujii.
Chances are he or she did not.
That leaves Strikeforce. And, unfortunately once again, they only have one weight class. Sure, you can technically say two, but the featherweight division is only Cyborg Santos and whatever cherry-picked opponent they pick out for her. Now, that she is on the sideline with the CSAC suspension that becomes even more irrelevant.
So, in order to become a star in women’s MMA you should be a bantamweight with Strikeforce in sight. Needless to say, McMann fits all of the qualifications.
No, she is not currently signed to Strikeforce but as she continues to shoot up the 135-pound ladder that time is nearing.
The former Olympian is 5-0 in MMA and will face off with Shayna Baszler at Invicta FC 2 on July 28th. Another difficult fight as she continues to hone her skills in the sport. But that is not the fight that will make her a star, or that everyone has their sights set on.
That fight is against Ronda Rousey, naturally. According to McMann, in an MMADiehards.com interview, Rousey refused their first fight back when both women were entering the sport.
My first pro fight, we were searching everywhere and I was offered a fight against Ronda at a catch-weight of 140 (pounds),” McMann said. “Monte (Cox) called me and I said I would take it because I really couldn’t find an opponent. I thought, ‘Another Olympic medalist, she’s going to step up to the plate.’ Then he called me back and said, ‘They’re really trying to talk her into it, her managers and her trainers, and she just keeps refusing the fight.’
The fight will have a definite appeal if marketed properly. Two Olympic medalists, Judo vs. Wrestling, undefeated streaks for both combatants and title being on the line highlight in-the-cage selling points. And then add in Rousey’s ability to sell the fight with her trash talk and a big fight it could be.
McMann is no slouch on the mic as well, but it is something that she chooses not to take part in. At least that is what she says right now. One has to imagine Rousey will offer plenty of ammunition to return fire with.
Most exciting of all is that McMann has the pedigree to push Rousey to the limits. If she is able to make the invincible champion look human, that will go a long way in the fan’s eyes win or lose.
A great backstory, a world-class athlete and the ability to compete with the division’s elite give her an instant credibility to sell to the crowds. As she continues to learn the other aspects of the sport she becomes more dangerous and a bigger threat to the current Strikeforce champion.
If she can climb to the top of the bantamweight ladder and get that fight then she has all the tools to become the next star of women’s MMA.
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