Thanks to popular female fighters like Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, and many others, women's mixed martial arts has quickly garnered widespread attention from the media, marking a huge milestone for female fighters worldwide.
In a sport that has traditionally been dominated by males, the rise of female stars reflects progress in both the UFC and in the sports realm in general. On March 5th, during UFC 196, Miesha "Cupcake" Tate became the 3rd woman to claim the title of UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion by defeating Holly "The Preacher's Daughter" Holm in the fifth round after a closely fought match. Immediately following the fight, UFC president Dana White announced that Tate's first title defense would occur later this year against rival Ronda Rousey. Rousey was UFC's first Bantamweight Champion and the woman who many credit as responsible for making women's mixed martial arts widely known to the public.
While progress has certainly been made in acknowledging women in the sport for their dedication and accomplishments, the UFC and the fans who follow MMA still have a long way to go in terms of achieving equality. The top results of a google search for "women's MMA" or "female fighters UFC" are not articles lauding these women on their athletic performances and achievements, but rather rankings of "The 28 Hottest Women's MMA Fighters" and "The 12 Hottest and Deadliest Female UFC Fighters." Holly Holm, a champion boxer and the woman who put an end to Ronda Rousey's undefeated record, is described in the latter of these articles as a "blonde bombshell" who attracts attention with her "long legs" in addition to her "lethal kicks." Felice Herrig, a fellow MMA fighter and kick-boxer, and Muay Thai fighter, joins Holm on the list and is described as "hard on her opponents, but easy on the eyes." On the flip side, if one looks up "MMA male fighters," the top results are articles such as "The Greatest MMA Fighters of All Time"—with Ronda Rousey being the only woman in the top 65 of the list.
This type of behavior is blatantly insulting to women, involved in sports or not. These powerful, strong, amazing fighters have been confined to roles based solely upon their physical appearance. Women like Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Miesha Tate, and Felice Herrig have not spent countless hours training; putting their blood, sweat, and tears into the sport, solely to be put on a list ranking them by their "hotness."
While I am over the moon happy that these women and female fighters all over the world are finally getting the attention they deserve, I am upset that almost all of the attention from fans, and therefore media, is being based on their attractiveness rather than their abilities as athletes.
