Several weeks ago, former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was once again making MMA headlines, this time for his controversial views on women's MMA. While the news was less than surprising given his background and traditional ideals, it still stirred many fans and pundits, many of whom were shocked by the comments.
"Women shouldn't compete in UFC/MMA because this sport is for men," Emelianenko said. "There are a lot of sports where women look like women - like gymnastics, water sports, maybe some athletics."
However, there is at least one female MMA competitor who is not too concerned with Fedor's comments. Felice Herrig, who was unaware of his comments before appearing on Submission Radio this week, stated that Fedor's opinion was not surprising given his traditional upbringing.
"I actually didn't hear that, but I also think that it might be....you know like some morals and values are stricter in certain countries too. I don't know. I don't know how things are over there in Russia."
Apart from Fedor's own personal upbringing and environment, Felice suggested that the squeamish perspective on women fighting was quite common in the United States as well.
"Some people don't like watching woman get hit. My uncle for instance. He's not prejudiced against women's MMA, he loves me, he supports me, but he will not watch me fight. He does not like to watch me get hit. Some people just, it doesn't suit them well"
Given that Herrig is well acquainted with this mentality, she is inclined to give Fedor a pass for his viewpoint.
"I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it's just because he's a really good guy and he doesn't believe that woman should be treated that way."