The Rise of WMMA

 

Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Julie Kedzie, Gina Carano, Liz Carmouche, Felice Herrig, Cris Cyborg, Marloes Coenen - these are just a few of the names of some of the best fighters in the world. Thanks to Strikeforce, EliteXC, Invicta FC and now the UFC, these fighters are finally starting to get the attention they deserve. As MMA fans we knew the time would come when these women would get their moment to shine, and that time is now.

Just a year and a half ago it seemed that WMMA fighters would be relegated to small time promotions competing for crumbs. Dana White, president of the UFC, famously stated that women will “never” be in the UFC. Now we have women becoming household names with big time sponsors fighting for promoters that actually respect the skills, hard work, dedication and integrity that these fighters bring to the cage/ring.

 

The first WMMA fighters to headline a major promotion’s card were Gina Carano and  Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, (Cristiane Santos at the time). This fight was an epic moment in WMMA. These two female fighters were showcased above some great names and well respected male MMA fighters. On that night guys like Gilbert Melendez, Gegard Mousasi, Fabricio Werdum and Renato Sobral were second fiddle to the women and they did not disappoint. “Cyborg” went on to win the Strikeforce women’s title by way of TKO. 

 

Female fighters make a splash in the UFC

Since the first WMMA bout in UFC history in January, 2013 we have seen these fighters become instant fan favorites. When Liz Carmouche nearly had a rear naked choke while on champion Ronda Rousey’s back, the crowd was on it’s feet in feverish anticipation of an upset of the woman that “sold” Dana White on women fighting in the UFC, we knew the women were here to stay. Ronda eventually reversed the choke attempt by Liz and went on to win via her signature armbar late in the first round, yet both fighters proved to us that the women not only had the skills to compete on the biggest stage, but that they also had the star power to drive a UFC pay-per-view event. In the first three WMMA bouts in the UFC, we have seen all three fights end in finishes. With Rousey submitting Carmouche via armbar at UFC 157, Cat Zingano’s tko victory on Miesha Tate at the TUF 17 finale and Olympic silver medalist in wrestling Sara McMann’s tko victory over Sheila Gaff at UFC 159, all three WMMA fights in the UFC have ended in finishes.

 

With the highly anticipated Invicta FC 6 headlined by Cristiane “Cyborg” and Marloes Coenen just a month away, Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton on the pay-per-view portion of the upcoming UFC 161 event and the highly anticipated season 18 of TUF for the first time featuring two female head coaches and the first season to have female fighters competing in the tournament, women’s mma has quickly gained traction in the world of mixed martial arts. I for one am always excited to hear when a WMMA fight is announced and a little disappointed when a fight card has no WMMA fights. Just like the revolution of 20 years ago when the UFC burst onto the combat sports scene, WMMA is has had it’s struggles with people seeing them as a “sideshow” displaying more style than substance, now nobody can ever deny these fighters have what it takes to drive events and show the world they have the skills to be taken seriously. They have fought and trained hard for our entertainment and in doing so they earned the respect they deserved in the first place.

Thank you to Shannon Knapp for running the first ever all WMMA promotion in Invicta FC and to Scott Coker for seeing the star power and skills the women possess.

 

Thank you and be safe.

 

Randy Casjens

Twitter @SavageRandy