The Ultimate Female Fighter?
by josemonkey on Oct 31, 2008 1:46 PM EDT
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PrintWomen's MMA suffered a major setback when EliteXC crashed and burned. The future of professional MMA for women is unclear; so far, no other major promotions have shown an interest in building up the sport for women like EliteXC did. One possible way to reinvigorate women's MMA and generate interest would be to create a reality show like The Ultimate Fighter for women. "TUFF: The Ultimate Female Fighter" Okay, the name is corny, but hear me out…
The first season of TUF introduced MMA to many new fans. The UFC's mainstream success and profitability is, arguably, a result of the boost it got from the first season of TUF, which climaxed with the unforgettable Griffin vs. Bonnar stand-up war. The key question, of course, is whether plugging in female fighters to the formula will yield similar results.
Right now, they aren't very many well-known female fighters. I think that having a show like this could help promote some of the most promising female fighters and expose them to a wider audience. Consider how many fighters enjoy name recognition now thanks to being on TUF. While it's true that some of the TUF alums are more deserving of the spotlight than others, it's clear that the visibility of being on TUF has helped several fighters go from being nobody to being a contender almost overnight.
Frankly, I don't think the format of the show would need to change in any meaningful way. After all, we're talking about fighters and athletes, not a bunch of pom pom girls. I wouldn't be surprised if they did alter it, though. Anyone who's watched a female fighter get interviewed knows that there is a double-standard in how women's MMA is covered. If you don't believe me, listen to some of the questions that female fighters are asked in interviews (like this one with Gina Carano) and ask yourself if they'd ever ask Chuck Liddell the same questions. ("When's the last time you cried?" and "Would you ever pose for Playboy?" WTF.) So, I suspect they'd feel the need to alter the show in some way, but it's probably not warranted. This seems inevitable to me.
When thinking about what a female version of the show would look like, one of the first things that comes to mind is that atmosphere of the house would be decidedly different. I don't mean to stereotype here, but I find it hard to believe that a group of women would behave the same way the guys on the show do. Having said that, I'm not sure what the dynamic of the house might look like, but it would be interesting to find out.
What do you guys (and girls?) think?
BTW, I've heard others toss around this idea to varying degrees on other MMA blogs. So, a tip of the hat to "NDN" who posted a comment about women's TUF on this thread over at 411mania.com and "Miss Rara" who submitted a similar question over at Cage Potato today.
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I wasn’t aware of that.
I think there are some key differences, though. Weren’t these all amatuers? I suspect the level of competition wasn’t top notch. For example, Gina Carano was a coach / mentor on Fight Girls. In my mind, I wouldn’t have her be a couch on TUF — she’d be a competitor.
I also think that the TUF brand has been established and would lend credibility to it. Plus, if it were on Spike it would likely have a bigger potential audience than the Oxygen channel.
Good point, though — thanks.
I'm an idiot...
That was supposed to be in reply to mythbuster… not to my own post!
I think it’s a great idea. TUF is the best vehicle around to introduce a more mainstream audience to female mma. Additionally, the reality show is a nice way to develop characters that people want to follow.
Zuffa may even want to consider doing a reality show with female fighters for the WEC. That way they could introduce female fighters and give the WEC a little more attention.
Stupid as in watched by over 2 million viewers or Stupid as in not watched at all?
"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007
I think he means it in a good way...
To quote the Beastie Boys:
Educated? No. Stupid? Yes.
And when I say stupid I mean stupid fresh
As in Great ratings
http://mma4real.net/
by Tha Realness on Oct 31, 2008 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions
talent pool?
I wonder if there are enough female MMA fighters of decent caliber out there? We always gripe about the sub-par talent levels displayed on TUF – wouldn’t a female version be just as bad?
Of course
but it would help to fill out a division, so we can see the good ones more often. Add to that, it could create new stars.
actually
it is often observed that female fighters (and therefore femal fights) can be more technically pleasing to watch as they seem to have less of the ‘ego’. Women fight pretty technically anyway (GENERALLY) Obviously this wouldn’t go for everyone all of the time but you never know… plus (talking from experience) women have to work so much harder and have tons of heart because you are working against the tide and having to prove yourself alot of the time.
BUT I definately agree with what josemonkey originally said – female fighters will never be taken truly seriously until they are stopped being asked questions such as mentioned above… in an ideal world (but i dont think it will happen) people would talk about ‘fighters’ and it doesn’t matter about them being female or male. It wont happen though, most people (not all) but most, seem to factor in looks as well as skill when discussing women in martial arts. When isn’t that what a ring girl is for?
I think the more popular it got the more women would get interested in it – and there are already some awesome female fighters out there – there is such capacity for more. And like mythbuster said it would create new stars…. hopefully one day we’ll find out.
People often assume that women are generally more technical than men, and men are just more gifted physically.
It’s not true. In any sport.
by bigweeze on Nov 1, 2008 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I am not sure that women’s MMA will ever be taken seriously in the near future, say five yrs. The problem is that it has never been marketed properly. They always make it about looks, and other things that don’t matter. I would love to see it done, I just don’t see it happening. Who knows though, maybe the powers that be at Zuffa will get over their chauvenism and do something with WEC. I still want to see Carano get killed by Cyborg.
That’s not much different than mens MMA. Charismatic fighters who are easily marketable will almost always fare better than vanilla fighters, which is why vanilla fighters need to be much better. If you need an example, look at Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. Brocks getting a title shot with his 1-1 record, and Carwin (10-0, 3-0 in the UFC) is still a relative unknown.
So you see, it’s rarely about who’s the better fighter – it’s who’s the more marketable. With both men and women, it comes down to charisma.
by mythbuster on Nov 2, 2008 9:44 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
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