In 1973, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes," a tennis match that would go down as one of the 20th Century's most significant sporting events.Is MMA ready for a similar event?
It sounds insane at first, but as MMA fans wonder whether Strikeforce can find a worthy 145-pound woman to fight its champion, Cris Cyborg, there's some chatter that maybe the right opponent for Cyborg isn't a woman at all.
K.J. Noons, the former EliteXC lightweight champion who trains with Cyborg, tells Loretta Hunt of Sherdog that he thinks Cyborg is the one woman who could compete at the highest levels of men's MMA. The best 145-pound men fight in the WEC, and although Noons believes women should fight women and men should fight men, he thinks Cyborg could beat some of the men in the WEC if given the chance.
"I believe (male vs. female fights) wouldn't be that competitive, but every now and then there is a special athletic woman that can compete with men in fighting," Noons said. "I believe Cris is one of them. Can she be competitive if she fought in the WEC? Yes, she could. Would she be champ? If I knew the answer to that, I'd be a billionaire and I wouldn't be fighting."
Noons is about 15 pounds heavier than Cyborg and says she challenges him as much in sparring sessions as a man her size does.
"When I see her fight other guys, she's usually beating them up or manhandling them," Noons said. "When I spar with her, we're just working; I'm giving her work. When she goes full speed on me, she definitely has the power of a man. She throws like a 145-pound man."
So does that mean Cyborg should go one-on-one with a man not just in the gym, but in an arena? And if so, who would she fight? Bobby Riggs wasn't the top male tennis player in the world, he was a past-his-prime former No. 1. So to extend the analogy, we're not talking about Cyborg fighting Jose Aldo or Manny Gamburyan or Mike Brown. I really have no idea who would be MMA's 145-pound male equivalent of the 1973 Bobby Riggs. Maybe Jens Pulver? Yes, a Pulver vs. Cyborg fight would draw plenty of eyeballs, and although it would never happen in the WEC or Strikeforce, I'm sure there are promoters out there who would be only too happy to book it.
The difference is that King vs. Riggs was great for the sport of tennis. Cyborg vs. Pulver (or any man) would be horrible for MMA. The Bob Reillys of the world would have a field day crowing about a male vs. female MMA fight. The public discourse about the fight would be ugly, and detrimental to the sport.
That's why I don't much like the idea. There's nothing morally wrong with a male vs. female MMA fight, just as there's nothing morally wrong with the kind of male vs. female sparring session that Noons describes, nothing wrong with girls wrestling boys in high school meets across the country, and nothing wrong with men fighting women in kickboxing, as has happened several times. But from a public relations standpoint, it just isn't the right time for a man to fight a woman in MMA. Cyborg may be a great enough fighter to do it, but that doesn't mean she should.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I could only accept it if it were some type of exhibition bout maybe extra padding or something involved that screams exhibition then I'd be ok with it but I agree it could not be a legitimately sanctioned bout
I could see this happening as an amateur/exhibition fight just for fun, like a glorified sparring session. Hell it could even be between Cyborg and KJ Noons. Or make it submission grappling rules. I'd pay to see that!
It's fun to talk about, but it won't happen in a major promotion any time soon. Almost every outcome would be a negative one.
They really should have her genetically tested ala Caster Semenya
Watching Cyborg get punched by a man is not much different than watching Cyborg punching a women.
Your right I cringe when I see the other female in the cage with her. I actually feel sorry for her opponents. She's a monster.
She's probably already KO'ed a few dudes out of the ring, so why not? She's an absolute beast. I'd watch that
The idea is nice, but it would be an absolute PR nightmare if she were to get laid out from a punch on her jaw from a man. If she wins, it discredits the men of that promotion. It just seems to be a lose/lose to me if I were running a promotion.
No F'in way..Tennis WTF..Tennis is nothing like fighting..We all know that.
This is soooo stupid it does not merit mentioning in any type of journalism. PERIOD.
Somewhere, in some gym, Jens Pulver's sparring opponents are turning black and blue with the thought that he'd even be considered as an opponent to be fighting a woman
cyborg vs.faber would be a good fight,hell faber already looks like a chick anyways
Ha ha ha. Seriously, that WAS funny. His skin is so smooth looking. Yeah, I kind of see some resemblance there. Too bad I like watching Faber fight. He'd work her. Still: pretty funny comment.
love those who claim they "train some MMA" and are male so therefore they can take cyborg...yeah, cyborg would destroy most in her weight class who are male...seriously...and those off t he street or non trained fighters...6 foot...185...yeah she would slam you and break all your bones.
KJ Noons TRAINS with her, so this is partially why he mentioned it....KJ is a heck of a fighter, and so is cyborg...hes just saying she COULD beat a man in the cage...and hes right.
but as the writer says...that doesn't mean that she should.
You mean Renee Richards? Cyborg has a body that most men would die for (and not just to fondle). If anything, she'd play Richards in his/her life story. Nah, Cyborg is larger and more built than Richards was.