Bleacher Report interviewed Sarah Kaufman and asked her about the way female fighters are marketed:
Kyte: A lot of the female fighters getting attention these days are the ones who rock bikinis and take photos like they’re posing for lingerie ads. Does that focus on appearance, and female fighters having to be portrayed as sex symbols and objects of desire, frustrate you at all?
Kaufman: (laughs) I don’t think there is anything wrong with showing a feminine side if that’s you, or looking nice and presentable. Obviously image is a big thing for anyone. I understand that image really is important, but your image has to be you.
I’m wouldn’t be comfortable posing in bathing suits, that’s not my style. I’m definitely more on the tomboy side of things: skate shoes, jeans, track pants, definitely more on the edge of comfy as opposed to dresses and heels. That’s just not me, so I would have a hard time forcing myself to play that image on a regular basis.
If there were an occasion where they asked me to dress up, I would try, but I can’t promise that I would come out looking as good as everyone else. I also wouldn’t take my clothes off.
Donna of Gal's Guide to MMA commented:
Yes, of course I realize sex sells. But these women are professional athletes, and I’m not sure posting a picture of them in a bra and panties alongside an interview of their training regime is showing them the respect they deserve. By all means, comment on how beautiful Gina Carano is. I’ll be the first to say she’s insanely gorgeous. Anyone who’s been on my website, Gals Guide to MMA, knows that I have a hearty appreciation for the hotness of many of the fighters we cover. However, that doesn’t stop me from covering guys like Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva, who’ll never make it on a list of Top 100 Hottest MMA Fighters. Right now, it seems like if you’re a female MMA fighter, and you’re not super hot or Cristiane Santos, then you’re not going to get much media attention. If Cyborg is fulfilling a life-long dream by posing in Playboy, then by all means go for it. But I can’t help feel she’s attempting to stay relevant in a system that sometimes praises women fighters for their beauty rather than their talent.
For my dollar, I like photos of sexy women and I like MMA, and the combination has a kind of "don't get your chocolate in my peanut butter" quality that I find a little disconcerting. It just weirds me out to have a sexual response to someone like Gina Carano based on her cheesecake photos and then to see her get punched in the face.
But I'm not going to pretend to be the biggest fan of women's MMA. I'm a huge fan of the fighters and the heart and dedication they display, but not as big a fan of the fights themselves.