Ufc

UFC Leads The Way in Gender Equality

UFC Leads The Way in Gender Equality
21:31, 26 Aug 2017

Like any other major company, the UFC finds itself regularly criticised for varying reasons. We can talk about an array of controversies from the Reebok deal to fighter pay, but why not talk about something that the promotion leads the way in?

Gender equality in mixed martial arts and the promotion, in general, might be the reason the company was sold for over $4 billion last July. The rise of Ronda Rousey and the emergence of the two female divisions after the first women locked horns inside the octagon at UFC 157 in February 2013.

Do many other sports have females compete on their biggest shows, alongside their male counterparts? Out of seven pay per views the UFC has hosted this year, six have contained female bouts on the card. In boxing, Katie Taylor and Claressa Shields are perhaps the two biggest names in the female scene and have only had ten boxing bouts between them.

Holly Holm has competed in both and formerly was a three-weight world champion before her move into mixed martial arts. She has competed on four pay-per-views since her move to the octagon and her victory over Ronda Rousey attracted a crowd of 56,124 in Melbourne, Australia. This was and still is a record attendance for a UFC event, which was co-headlined by a women’s strawweight title bout between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valaerie Letourneau.

People could argue that without the hype surrounding Ronda Rousey and the viewership she brought to the sport, that women’s mixed martial arts wouldn’t be as popular as it is. The likes of Amanda Nunes, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino are the athletes continuing to carry the mantle.

Nunes became the UFC’s first openly gay champion in the history of the promotion after defeating Miesha Tate last summer at UFC 200. Her stock continues to rise and is a champion that the sport and the UFC should be immensely proud of. Her partner, Nina Ansaroff also competes in the octagon.

Former strawweight title challenger and #2 ranked contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz spoke with The Sportsman on gender equality in the sport.

“From a female perspective, the beginnings of my career were more difficult. Trainers and training partners didn’t take me seriously, so I had to work hard to earn their respect and gain equal treatment” said the Polish star.

Kowalkiewicz added “When I turned professional, it was easier for me to get through the ranks as there isn’t as many professional women. When you reach a certain level in the sport, there is no difference if you are a man or a woman, it only matters how you fight!”

“Men and women and completely different and despite the changes and evolution of the world, whether for better or worse, men and women will always be treated differently and will live by different rules” Kowalkiewicz told us about gender equality.

The thirty-one-year-old is 3-2 in the UFC and lost out to a decision by unbeaten compatriot Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 205 in New York City last November.

Whilst a career in the UFC is the pinnacle for a mixed martial artist, Invicta Fighting Championships was founded in 2012 and offers a platform for female fighters hoping to make their mark in the sport.

The likes of the aforementioned Cris Cyborg, Michelle Waterson and Carla Esparza have all come through the Invicta promotion into the UFC and the competition is highly regarded.

Swedish bantamweight Pannie Kianzad spoke of her admiration for the promotion telling The Sportsman “I love Invicta for doing their thing and providing a platform for the world’s best female athletes”.

She also spoke of injury troubles, which partner up with financial issues saying “The pay is not good enough to live on. I’m a professional athlete and when I was injured for over a year it doesn’t help”.

Kianzad is twenty-five and is the former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion. She is currently offering personal training alongside her career as a mixed martial artist to make ends meet.

Whilst there might be a big pay difference between the top athletes and those further down the order, this isn’t a gender issue. The sport will continue to develop with the addition of the featherweight division most recently, and the women’s flyweight division to follow later this year.

It will be interesting to see which stars will arise out of the ashes of Ronda Rousey’s mixed martial arts career. Dana White recently compared her to Rousey and Conor McGregor, comparing their first meeting got him just as excited as those landmark occasions.

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