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We've just witnessed the greatest advancement for female sports since Brandi Chastain ripped off her shirt at the end of the World Cup.
So why does it feel more like a punch to the stomach?
I'm talking about last weekend's MMA bout between Gina Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. It supposedly is the breakthrough battle that will make female fighting mainstream.
It came days after the International Olympic Committee approved female boxing for the 2012 Olympics. The ancient Greeks who started the Olympics treated women like property. Now we're letting women treat themselves like animals.
This, of course, is seen as progress. Maybe it's the thought of a female Chuck Wepner, but I don't see much enlightenment.
I can't rationally argue women shouldn't be allowed to beat themselves bloody. It's more an emotional repulsion that makes me hope these breakthroughs are overblown.
On a practical level, I doubt the Carano vs. Cyborg was the fighting equivalent of the 19th Amendment. When it comes to female fighters, the MMA still has less depth than Paris Hilton. Carano was its Danica Patrick, and now she's been beaten by Ivan Drago.
We all know that looks matter, which is why the WWE long ago replaced the Fabulous Moolah with pole dancers. If female combat is going to ever make it big, it will need competitors who look like strippers and fight like bouncers.
That concludes the Male Chauvinist Pig portion of this column. Honestly, I don't think a woman's place is on the sideline waving a pom-pom. I'm all for equal pay, a female president and my daughters growing up in a misogyny-free world.
I just don't care to see them in a boxing ring, even if they're beating up some Russian for a gold medal.
Women are called the better half for a reason. They are better than men.
In general, we are territorial, hunter-gatherers, hard-wired to see who is the king of the jungle. Women will show more fight than 10 men when their children are threatened, but they need a good reason to drop the gloves. Men just need an excuse.
You may consider that Neanderthal reasoning. I think it's human nature prompted by visions of my mother looking like Tex Cobb or babbling like Meldrick Taylor.
It's the same feeling I get about women on the front lines in Iraq or Afghanistan. As much as I hate the prospect of a young male soldier getting captured and tortured, the mere thought of a female getting that treatment is horrifying.
In our gender-equity world such considerations don't matter. The MMA and boxing aren't war, but something is odd when Gloria Steinem and Don King come down on the same side of an issue.
Women have every right to earn a living beating each other up, and some are very good at it. I'd last about 16 seconds in the cage with Cyborg, assuming she spent the first 10 seconds laughing at my physique.
There is obviously an audience for what she does. The Carano fight headlined the Showtime pay-per-view, and 13,524 showed up at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
From all accounts, the crowd loved it. Of course, some people like snuff films and Michael Vick's ex-hobby. And our ancestors had season tickets to the Christians vs. the Lions.
At least we've dialed it down to boxing and MMA. I'm not a big fan of the steel cage, but I'm not against it. It taps into our historic thirst for a little bloodsport. Of the hundreds of sports events I've covered, nothing matches the primal buzz right before a title bout.
I love it. I just can't get psyched to find out who will be the female Mike Tyson. Is there something wrong with me or something wrong with somebody who does?
If nothing else, I'll never become a member of the IOC. The movement began in the Cradle of Civilization, and now the modern minds have decreed that women should be allowed to knock each other's heads off.
If TV ratings are promising, expect female MMA by the 2020 Olympics. Thousands of young girls may be inspired to become the next Cyborg.
If you see this as progress, so be it.
For some reason, it doesn't make me feel any more civilized.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
wow! i love WMMA and i hate dogfighting... i must be really weird.
The distinction between dogfighting and MMA is a good one. Dogs are forced to fight. MMA fighters not only do it willingly, they train very hard to become MMA fighters, as they do when they are getting ready for a fight.
Who the hell let you write about MMA? You clearly know nothing about the subject, and insist on drawing tenuous, ignorant, vapid and utterly moronic parallels to gender issues both real and imagined in an attempt to find a point.
Note - I said attempt. You don't have a coherent point in here, other than to express your own self-admitted completely irrational preference against women engaging in a combat sport.
This is as bad as anything Mariotti's ever written. You should be ashamed of yourself. And the real MMA writers at Fanhouse should be ashamed that this garbage appears alongside their work.
Hey Moron, get over yourself.
I've been in the professional boxing business for more than 30 years including having several of my fighters involved in world championship fights. The 4:59 seconds the Carano-Cyborg fight lasted had more violence, furiosity, intensity, drama and all out aggression as just about any fight I have ever seen including "The Fight" between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas "Hitman" Hearns.
I watched the Carano-Cyborg fight three times and came away with mixed feelings. The obvious observation is that female MMA fighters have truly come to the ring with outstanding conditioning, training and skills and combat. O fully understand David Whitley's comment that this fight tended to look like Ivan Drago destroying Rocky Balboa thanks to modern medicine.
Cyborg is an incredibly fit and skilled athlete ... however, I find myself wondering if her conditioning is all natural or in any way a result of chemicals and modern medicine.
Make no doubt about it, MMA is kicking boxing's ass in viewership, ratings and at the gate. But, in a word of caution, I am concerned that MMA combatants do not have sufficient equipment to properly protect themselves. Their gloves have half the padding that boxing gloves do yet boxers have been killed in the ring. Gina Carano got her butt kicked big time despite putting forth a valiant effort. How would the fans felt if she were seriously hurt, or worse, as she lay on the canvas after the ref stopped the fight. Why were we not more concerned about why she had to spend so much time with the doctors in the lockeroom that she was unable to give an interview?
Someday, heaven forbid, an MMA fighter will lose their life in the octogon. How will we feel at that time if it happens to be a female? Are we ready for that? Do we need that? I think not.
RR
you dumb ass, it's ok if a man dies in the ring but not a woman...you are such a huge idiot....your post says all we need to know about the iq's of fighters...
Nobody will die in Mma your just another nay sayer in this long debate
There have been many deaths in boxing were we ready for that???
This douche bag report on womens Mma fights is really stupid men fight you can compare them to women not dogs
Bloodsport seriously man get a grip
It will be the most popular sport in the world with no equal.
These fighters you supposedly call vicious people bent on destruction these people are trained well conditioned althelets world class fighters that train for weeks . 8 weeks is the average training regement.
So don't compare them to vicious dogs any gender it is politically wrong
Plus there are doctors on site
Pretty sure there's already been a MMA related death. But Boxing is way more notorious. If not for the constant pounding to the head which could lead to hemorrhaging or what not, think about the long term effects (i.e. Ali). MMA has much more aggression, violence, and drama in it because it's not just one art. You watch Boxing, you usually get 10 rounds of dancing and jabbing. You watch Jiu-Jitsu competitions and you might get bored if you don't know what going on. You watch Taekwondo events and you just see two people pecking feet at one another, trying to score points and nothing else.
The reason MMA is more "violent" and exciting is because it combines all of this. It's simple logic. Of course there are the occasional boring fights, but overall there is always action going on because there are so many ways to finish your opponent.
they'll have to test Chis foe STEROIDS ASAP, BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT /.
MMA continues to be a cheap gimmick driven circus. A mid 30`s guy who beats people up in back yards on YouTube becomes star , a former WWE wrestler at 30+ with no professional sports background of any kind after 3 fights beats the crap out the MMA legends and wins the title, talent less Gina Cheesecake who after a short series of "fights" against carefully hand picked opponents is dubbed the Face of women's MMA. What a joke. The list could go on and on ........Only in the bootleg clown act world of MMA.
Brock Lesnar, if you didn't know, was an NCAA Division I champion wrestler. Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland are Olympic wrestlers, and Randy Couture an alternate, I could go on with the accomplishments of these athletes.
Kimbo Slice, the YouTube backyard brawler, was marketed by Elite XC, which was universally panned the way it did business. And guess who was the showrunner of that company? A boxing promoter (Gary Shaw).
You have a terribly ignorant view of MMA and have not taken the time to research your argument. It's unfortunate.
wackenpuss - you're dead wrong about the gloves and boxing injuries vs. MMA injuries. Over time, boxing is much more detrimental to a fighter's health. The amount of padding on the gloves has only a little bit to do with it - the fact that boxers are repeatedly pounded in the head and pretty much the head only, except for a few body shots, has much more to do with injuries sustained and their future health.
Read here: http://blog.mmaratings.net/2009/03/knocked-out-or-just-poor-refing.html
Oh yeah - and I'm not a Brock fan either, trust me (read here: http://blog.mmaratings.net/2009/07/to-brock-apology-not-accepted.html) BUT, and I can't believe I'm saying this, he IS a professional athlete.
In regards to the Ali reference, that is my fear. Im an advocate for MMA, order almost every fight. I also grew up with boxing. I dont beleive I have seen near as many knockouts in boxing as I have in MMA.Viscious knockouts. Thats what drew me in. Yet think about these old boxers whoe have fallen apart minds gone. MMA has not been around to prove what type of long term damage these guys now will sustain. Kinda scarry. I have no quarms about women who want to fight, fighting. Its just not for me. I cringe when i see a woman take a big shot.Natural instinct maybe. Just my opinion
LMAO, wakenpuss are you referring to Brock Lesnar? I will admit the 3 fights he won are not legitimate in my eyes. Couture is old. Herring is an average gatekeeper and me being nice saying he's average. Mir I will give him. TO say the man has NO professional sports background is flat out wrong. He was a NCAA two time champion. I will say I am not a fan of Lesnar, I'm not going to bring him down by saying false statements.
Well thanks for your honest opinion. Hate to tell you though - since no one asked you for it, it is pretty much...well, useless.
Oh - and when you said "That concludes the Male Chauvinist Pig portion of this column." why did you continue with your male chauvinist pig comments?
BTW - a lot of Greek women were independent and in fact there were whole societies of women who fought against the male chauvinistic pigs in their society, just like the women of today are still forced to do with your type. I pity your daughters. And after studying karate, my daughter is still beautiful, smart, kind, and feminine, but now we can add ferocious to her character. If any boy tries to hit on her or hurt her...well, they'll be going home to mama with their tails between their legs, trust me. I think that's a good thing.
Additionally, Greek women actually participated in the Olympics, and the first sport in which they participated? Chariot Racing - one of THE most violent sports ever.
With all due respect, there's nothing wrong with you for feeling the way you do - a lot of sheltered men who have led a misogynistic life feel the same way. So - you're normal. Your problem is that you feel everyone else should feel the same way, and that's just not going to happen.
@robrussen09: Gina spent so much time in her locker room with her doctors because she was emotionally injured, not physically. Sheesh... And I know, I know - you're probably furious that they started "letting" women drive. Gosh that must have been hard for you - and now look at all the women who have died in car accidents as a result. Horrid.
Honestly - you men need to get over yourselves.
I understand your position, but ...
Is it wrong for a man to not want to see a woman suffer? Just because it's "sport" doesn't mean we can turn off these ingrained emotions.
There have been very few women knocked completely unconscious in MMA, and even fewer with huge cuts, badly broken noses, or broken arms (Arm bar). My point - If Cyborg had landed a knee to the head of Carano that opened up a huge gaping cut that drenched Gina's face in blood, I think the hype of womens MMA will give way to reality. I believe the view of many will change on that day.
@ Wackenpuss:
You are an idiot who doesnt do his homework...as the other guy who posted after you said...I am not a fan of Brock Lesnar, but the man does have some athletic background. Former NCAA wrestling champ and almost made the Minnesota Vikings squad. Do some research before you run your mouth.
As far as the brain injuries are concerned...boxing tends to be more dangerous because the overly padded gloves allow for more strikes to the head over time. In MMA, you have more ways to finish your opponent than just KOs and you tend to see more surface damage than hidden concussive damage like in boxing.
I think boxing is more dangerous due to the amount of times the guys fight. After 50 something fights, all those punches to the head add up. That's professional fights as well, boxers usually have amateur records that have a decent amount of fights. Usually MMA fighters do not fight as much although there are exceptions. We will have to wait out a couple more years to see how MMA affects the fighters in the long run.
As for women fighting, why not? Carano didn't look so bad to the point I had to worry. She looked fine and came out like a warrior. It's her first lost so of course she's going to be emotionally damaged. Any fighter would be.
To answer your somewhat rhetorical question. There is something wrong with you. You are certainly off your rocker mate. Take it back, ammend the article. Do whatever you need to do to gain back the support of the MMA community because you're going to lose it with writing like this. TRUST ME!
"Now we're letting women treat themselves like animals."
How does this logic not apply to men as well? Are you anti-MMA? If so, why are you writing on here?
What a ridiculous article. The single most mindless thing I have read on this site.