It comes as no secret that the face of MMA is stapled around Rhonda Rousey who seems to sit alone at top of the throne in women’s MMA. The real question now is how long will WMMA last in the UFC?
Rousey is the product of Ann Maria Rousey DeMars, who boasts a highly decorated Judo career and the honor of being the first American to win a world judo championship in 1984. When Rousey was young, her mother would jump onto the bed while her daughter was sleeping and yell “ARMBAR! ARMBAR! Always be ready!” and Rousey would wake up and immediately scramble for the armbar still half a sleep.
Stories like that prove that her signature move has been imbedded in her since childhood. Rousey, influenced by her mother, started training Judo as a child and eventually won a Bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She was the first American to win an Olympic medal in women’s Judo since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1992.
Rousey exploded onto the scene in the amateur mixed martial arts world, winning three fights in a row, all within the in first minute into the bout and all victories coming by armbar. Rousey made quick work of all her amateur competition and decided to test her skills in the pro division.
Rousey looked to make a name for herself among the pro’s, testing the waters in organizations like King of the Cage and Hard Knocks Fighting Championship, winning both fights in the first round within a minute via armbar. She then entered Strikeforce and became the face of women’s mixed martial arts.
Once in Strikeforce, Rousey proved herself as a force to be reckoned with by going 4-0, all within the first round en-route to winning submission of year in her performance against Julia Budd. She went on and eventually won the Strikeforce Bantamweight championship, defended it once, before fighting in the UFC and being crowned the first ever UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
Rousey has her work cut out for her against Liz Carmouche when the two meet at UFC 157 in the main event. This is a very pivotal point for the UFC as this is the first UFC to be headlined by two women.
Dana White has stated “this is the Rhonda Rousey show” and that is a clear message to the MMA world that she is the main reason women are in the UFC. Will this be the only weight class for women in the UFC? Is the UFC going to make just one off fights against Rhonda Rousey or will they treat this like a typical weight division?
One thing is for certain, as far as the women’s bantamweight division, there is no shortage of women who would like a crack at Rousey. Some names carrying a serious draw potential include Miesha Tate, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Sara McMann.
There are many talented bantamweight female fighters that would like a shot. Rousey is open with her verbal attacks to other women in mixed martial arts in and around her respected weight class which makes her a fan favorite. She also generates people’s interest in women’s mixed martial arts but leaves no shortage of women who would like to take her crown away.
There is plenty of talent in the women’s bantamweight division. Sarah Kaufman just came off of a loss to Rousey losing in a first round armbar at Strikeforce Rousey vs. Kaufman; however, she sports a 15-2 record.
Miesha Tate’s last outing resulted in a submission armbar victory over the female veteran Julie Kedzie. Tate boasts a 13-3 record. Sara McMann improved her record to a perfect 6-0 by defeating Shayna Baszler. Liz Carmouche record is 7-2 and has her work cut out for her against the UFC bantamweight champion at UFC 157 as the main event for the card. Amanda Nunes just lost to Sarah D’Alelio and now sports a 7-3 record. Cat Zingano is another professional female fighter showing a perfect 7-0 record.
The UFC will need to open the doors to more weight classes in WMMA in order for the women’s division to survive. There are plenty of top notch women in the other weight classes such as featherweight, flyweight, strawweight and atomweight, with a few standout female athletes in each division.
One of the most known featherweight female fighters aside from Rousey is none other than Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. She has earned a 10-1-1 record, tearing through her opponent’s in recent years. Another featherweight fighter known around the WMMA fan base is Marloes Coenen who holds a 20-5 record.
Looking at flyweight fighters, Zoila Gurgel has fought in more than one weight division and is decorated in both divisions holding a 12-2 record. Tara Larosa is considered a pioneer of the sport and has accumulated a 21-3 record in her career. Megumi Fujii, strawweight division, holds a 26-2 record fighting a list of who’s who in WMMA.
Another standout strawweight is Jessica Aguilar. She has earned herself a record of 14-4. Jessica Penne has been competing in the atomweight division of WMMA and boasts a 10-1 record. Michelle Waterson has accumulated a 10-3 record and will be challenging Jessica Penne for her title at Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. “Karate Hottie” April 6, 2013.
Rousey is definitely the first woman to break the ice in the UFC, but will she bring enough to the table to keep the sport thriving for all women? Is one female headlining fighter enough to draw in the fans needed to make this division a success? Now that women are joining the UFC, more and more legitimate female fighters will start emerging from the woodwork. Look to see women go from faking it to making, very soon.
Watch a fun fan made preview of Rousey vs. Carmouche in the video.
Video courtesy of YouTube uploader siangboxing