Foto Credit: Ester Lin / MMA Fighting

Saterdag, Februarie. 28, gaan 'n baken dag vir die Ultimate Fighting Championship wees. Al die vegters op die betaal-per-view kaart wat dag sal hul pre-stryd dwelm slaag ...... .never gedagte. Dit is te maklik.

Daardie dag sal die eerste keer 'n UFC kaart het 'vroue se aanvalle in beide sy mede-hoofren en die belangrikste gebeurtenis. After middleweight champion Chris Weidman was forced to withdraw from his fight against Vitor Belfort due to injury, the new main event at UFC 184 is Ronda Rousey defending her women’s bantamweight belt against Cat Zingano. In die mede-hoofren, much-heralded prospect Holly Holm will make her UFC debut against Raquel Pennington in another women’s bantamweight fight.

As I’ve mentioned before, UFC has come a long way from when Dana White told TMZ that women would “never” fight in his organization. Rousey sal hoofren haar derde agtereenvolgende Februarie PPV en Holm word wyd geglo word die volgende in lyn vir 'n kans op die titel, moet sy nederlaag Pennington. Holm is nog baie rou in 'n gemengde martial arts, maar treine met die wêreldbekende afrigters Greg Jackson en Mike Winkeljohn.

Rousey dra die vlag vir vroue se MMA en vir vroue in die UFC. Ander vroulike vegters haar in die Octagon, insluitend Miesha Tate, Liz Carmouche en Alexis Davis. Wat doen die drie in gemeen het? They all also fell to Rousey – Tate twice in Strikeforce and the UFC, and Carmouche and Davis both in the first round at UFC PPVs in 2013 en 2014, onderskeidelik.

Rousey and Tate’s feud is well-chronicled. It led to the two being coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, which included female fighters for the very first time who greatly outshined their male counterparts on the show that season.

Given that season’s success, the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter featured ALL female fighters and the debut of the UFC’s newest division, vroue se strawweight. Carla Esparza, die voormalige Invicta FC strawweight kampioen, het die eerste UFC weergawe van daai band na verslaan Rose Namajunas.

So in die span van vier jaar, UFC gaan uit met geen vroulike vegters en White uitdruklik verklaar dat dit nooit sal, die feit dat die tuiste van twee vroulike gewig klasse en ongetwyfeld die bevordering se grootste ster nou in Rousey. Moenie glo my? Het jy sien die derde Expendables fliek? Of wil jy van plan op die sien van die film-weergawe van Entourage hierdie somer? You might notice a familiar face.

So where does women’s MMA go from here? I am personally a big fan of female fights, as they tend to be among the more entertaining and action-packed fights on a UFC card. As I previously stated, female fighters are more than capable of outshining their male contemporaries. Why is that? Maybe female fighters feel they have more to prove inside the Octagon and always go for broke. Maybe they go into the Octagon with more of a “go for broke” mentality and actively seek a finish as opposed to “playing it safe.”

The fight between Rousey and Zingano on Feb. 28 will also go a long way toward determining the future of women’s MMA. Should Rousey defeat Zingano – which all signs indicate she will – she will have essentially cleaned out her division, with only unknown challengers like Holm and Bethe Correia left. If Zingano pulls the upset, then the division has a fresh batch of exciting matchups waiting.

But who knows what would have happened if Dana White kept his promise to TMZ?

Chris Hunt Mann skryf oor gemengde martial arts in die staat van Maryland. Hy dra ook sy gedagtes aan ons webwerf op die UFC, Bellator, en World Series of Veg. Check uit sy blog, of volg hom op Twitter: mmamaryland.