Miesha Tate comments on possible Rousey vs Carano bout

[bushido_man96]

Miesha Tate had some interesting comments on the possibility of a bout between Gina Carrano and Ronda Rousey in women's MMA: http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/443666/Miesha-Rousey-vs-Carano-is-kind-of-a-joke/

She has some valid points, and I think does make an interesting, and valid statement, here:

Women’s MMA has been working to legitimize ourselves for so long, and we finally broke the ice, we’re finally in the UFC, and we’re getting some credibility. Don’t take that away by putting a fight together that is based entirely on looks and has little to nothing to do with skill set. The only thing that drives that is they’re both attractive. It makes the women’s title hold no value. It makes it look like it’s a joke and they just put whatever’s going to sell. If we’re going to really legitimize women’s MMA as a sport and have it respected as a sport, then you have to treat it as such.

So, this raises an interesting question. Is women's MMA going to end up being driven by sexism, or by legitimate competitions? Is there a problem with sexism in women's MMA competition that doesn't exist in the men's competition? Do you think she has a good point, and where will this lead women's MMA? Do you think Carano deserves a shot this soon?

I'm not going to say that Carano isn't a legitmate contender for a title shot, because I don't know what her training has been like. But, Tate does make a good point about her not being around fighting for quite some time. For her to get a shot over some others that have been fighting, doesn't seem too fair to them. But sometimes, life just isn't fair, and that's the breaks.

What are everyone else's thoughts on the matter?

[sensei8]

Imho, sexism can be found in pretty much any sport in any capacity where men dominate said sport; UFC and the like is no exception.

[eakk1115]

Sex sells. Rousey brings in the crowd with her looks then brilliantly crushes her competition with skill. (Her trash talking also goes a long way into marketing strategies) Female MMA is just beginning to have the masses look beyond the outfit they are wearing to see the amazing skill set each one of these women possess. Once time has passed and more women are competing I don't think there will be as much discussion about what they look like. But sexism is part of society. Annoying and unfortunate at times but how someone deals with it shows character.

[mazzybear]

Most sports have sexism to some extent, I personally think it's rife in the UFC. It needs to be addressed pretty quickly or woman's UFC will become nothing more than mud wrestling without the mud. The ring girls in men's UFC walking round in next to nothing need to be done away with, it simply objectifies women as nothing but sex objects.

I think Tate's comments are pretty fair, Rousey is the face of UFC and obviously being the champion (although I think if the ref hadn't stepped in too quickly Tate may have had the beating of her in their last fight) she is the one everybody wants to fight, but to come out of nowhere and step over others to get to the champion then something is wrong.

If the fight does go ahead then I hope canarro wins, I'm not much of a Rousey fan, while few can mess with her on the ground, I don't think she's a great stand up fighter and if any fighter can nullify her judo skills then she is very vulnerable.

M.

[jaypo]

Yeah, but the UFC has done everything they can to avoid having Rousey, the attractive (although, I don't think so) champion fight the person that most think would crush her, and that is Cyborg. That woman is a killer. Dana White keeps bringing up her failed PED test (years ago), yet, he has had people like Josh Barnett and Vitor Belfort fighting consistently. Dana is a promoter, and he knows that Cyborg would have the best chance at dethroning Rousey. He's doing everything he can to avoid that fight.

Hell, Rousey has been avoiding that fight for years! And now that she and Dana are tight, I doubt that fight will ever happen. So to keep the Rousey hype train rolling, they're going to pull Gina Carano out of a 6 year retirement to fight her. I remember Gina getting crushed by Cyborg when Gina was in her prime! I think it would be poetic justice if Gina somehow came in and took the title. I would literally dance an Irish jig!

What bothers me about Rousey is that she is an olympic level champion in an ART that was founded on respect, yet she is the most disrespectful person (next to the Diaz brothers, who she is tight with) to fight in the UFC. And her mother is no better. I'd prefer a champ like Lyoto that holds the principals of his art close and outwardly shows respect for his art, the sport, and his opponent.

And on that note, I hop off of my soapbox!

[bushido_man96]

I don't care for Rousey's approach as the heel, either, but its her life, and she can do as she sees fit. Whether or not she is disrespectful really remains to be seen by those who are close to her in her personal life. All we really see is what she shows us when she's on the screen, which a big part of that is providing entertainment, which she does.

Also, when fighting at this level, there is a certain amount of ego that comes with it. I'd add that its a very testosterone driven sport, but that can't be with the females...but, I imagine it has to do with the fact that in order to be a winner, you have to go into the ring and physically and mentally dominate another human being, which is tough to do. So, what they do in order to do that job, can make the a little off the wall in manner sometimes.

As far as the sexism of the match between Carano and Rousey goes, I think it could become an issue. I'm not sure if women's Boxing ever encountered this, but the only woman Boxer I can name is Laila Ali (and may have spelled that wrong).

With all that said, who would watch the match between Carano and Rousey?

[jaypo]

I would think Rousey. Gina is one hell of a fighter, but she's been semi retired for literally 6 years doing movies. And Ronda has been training and fighting nonstop. I think Gina did a lot to bring WMMA to the forefront, but I really believe that her beauty (and I do think Gina is beautiful) had a lot to do with her popularity. The first real threat she faced (Cyborg) absolutely destroyed her (literally). Gina was a great fighter and a pioneer in her sport. I just think that had she not been as attractive as she was, the organization would not have hitched their wagon to her like they actually did.

[mazzybear]

With all that said, who would watch the match between Carano and Rousey?

I be watching it, should make for an interesting encounter.

M.

[eakk1115]

Definitely not spending money on ppv to watch Rousey arm bar a Hollywood starlet that use to fight. I'll just google the highlights the next day. If the fight actually happens enough money will be tossed around to feed a third world country.

That's what happens the further any sport goes past amateur status. Pro sports have some amazing talent and sometimes the showboats get paid better than the skilled because they draw in the crowd. If any sport is watched for the love of the game, stick to amateur level or farm league.

[jaypo]

I have to agree with you, eakk1115. If it were really about putting the best fighters against each other, they'd find a way to get Rousey to fight Cyborg. But Rousey has done everything she could to make sure that fight doesn't happen because she knows she'd get blasted. She switched weight classes in her former promotion because she knew Cyborg couldn't make the lower weight. Then she goes to the UFC. And Cyborg offered to fight her at a catchweight, but Rousey hid under the "I'm the champ, so you have to come down to my weight" card. Then, she and Dana start a public campaign criticizing her looks. That's why I hope someone takes the title from her. She's a poor representative of MAists.