Official Women's MMA Discussion Thread

[womble]

Originally Posted by derUbermensch

Fujii vs. Ward is slightly off-putting in that Fujii is physically imposing on 48kge'rs. Where's this info coming from?

I think it was posted by someone from Bodog. If I remember, the fight was going to be at 125 lbs. That opens up some potentially interesting matches for Fuji at that weight.

Other matches mentioned, I think, included Modaferri vs Bazler 2 and Buckner vs Kobald (at 135)

[derUbermensch]

Originally Posted by womble

I think it was posted by someone from Bodog. If I remember, the fight was going to be at 125 lbs. That opens up some potentially interesting matches for Fuji at that weight.

Yikes. Ward will be game, and always will be, but wow that's gonna be tough. If she had some probs with Misaki Takimoto, Fujii will be... yeah.

Originally Posted by womble

Other matches mentioned, I think, included Modaferri vs Bazler 2 and Buckner vs Kobald (at 135)

The rematch is tottally called for, and wow, someone finally dragged Kelly Kobald-Galvin out of the midwest. She's someone whose always been a question mark for me, mostly cause she's undefeated against scrubs and thus her full potential is yet to be known. Her last impression on me was the Marquez fight, so I hope she's worked on her game since cause otherwise Buckner will just knock her face in.

[Boxing Wiz]

There is a girl from Stockton, CA named Jenn Tate that I would like to see fight against some of these top women. This girl is like a FEMALE Nick Diaz, minus the bad attitude. Her stand up is decent, but she is slick onthe ground. I've seen her fight a couple times, and both she won by sub ( one an arm bar, and the other she chocked some poor girl out cold, who was trained by Gil Melendez). This girl is about 130 lbs, so I dont know if she could hang with some of the larger girls, but against anyone her size, she will be trouble.

[womble]

Good she might be but with two wins so far over first timers it might be a bit early to start getting excited. Certainly too early to talk about her fighting the top of the division. If her management have any sense, she'll get a bunch more fights first to build up some experience. Too often talented women seem to get thrown in at the deep end before they're ready for it. Berezikova is a good example.

[CombatSportNut]

Originally Posted by derUbermensch

Here's a lively question most people should be able to post about: Gina Carano... how far can she go?

Since the womens side of this sport is so under-promoted Gina Carano will be at the top no matter if she is a champ or not. She is the most marketable woman in the sport and she will probably always draw the biggest crowd and highest paycheck. How much farther does she need to go from there?

[womble]

Since the womens side of this sport is so under-promoted Gina Carano will be at the top no matter if she is a champ or not.

Uh, I thought this was the women's MMA discussion thread. Surely the point is to discuss women's MMA, not who the most marketable female MMAer is.

For those who don't give a f*ck about women's MMA, but just think Gina is hot, I'm sure you'll find a "Gina Carano for prom queen" thread somewhere else on the forum.

[Cube43200]

[quote]

Originally Posted by derUbermensch

Hopefully this will be stickied so FeMMA discussion won't fall to the wayside on this board.

Ok, so to get started, lets list some recent changes and upcoming stuff:

- Kyoko Takabayashi furthered Masako Yoshida's losing streak a few weeks ago in Smackgirl. Yoshida has fallen from beating damn near 1/3 of the 48kg division to losing to its every prospect and elite. The problem lies in her game, which is dangerously 'loose': allowing opponents to dictate where the fight is fought; lack of aggressive, killer instinct, etc. Its biting her in the ass now and she needs to stop and think instead of taking her 15295636th fight this year. She has tools, she just needs to use them; perhaps she needs to turn Yuka Tsuji for guidance, whose single-handedly turned Ayumi Saito into THE 48kg prospect and showed Hisae Watanabe the ropes on the ground. Takabayashi herself possess a very forward grappling style, constantly on the look out for the submission, though her stand-up can use some work. A bout with the 5-0 Emi Fujino would be healthy for both prospects as it'd force Takabayashi to train against Fujino's disciplined jab and straight while Fujino gets a saavy grappler as an opponent.

- As is well-known, Roxanne Modafferi won the K-GRACE tourney, defeating Megumi Yabushita for the second time en route to a finals victory over the acclaimed Marloes Coenen. Coenen's previous and only other loss was to Erin Toughill in the semifinals of the ReMix tournament where the two compeitively exchanged despite Toughill's outstanding size advantage. The bout was dubiously called to a halt when the referee ruled that a sizeable blow from Toughill had "KO'd" Coenen standing despite Coenen demonstrating the contrary.>>>>

Coenen looked good and done with from my angle. I saw a picture of her following the punch that indicated she was in la-la land.

Erin was also getting the better of her in the standup.

I believe Toughill had a 10 pound weight advantage (160 vs. approximately 150); Coenen isn't small.

[Cube43200]

Coenen's size advantage makes Roxanne's victory all the more impressive.

[derUbermensch]

Originally Posted by womble

Berezikova is a good example.

She'll maul someone other than a poor poor Korean girl one day.

Originally Posted by CombatSportNut

Since the womens side of this sport is so under-promoted Gina Carano will be at the top no matter if she is a champ or not. She is the most marketable woman in the sport and she will probably always draw the biggest crowd and highest paycheck. How much farther does she need to go from there?

I dunno... fight the best, perhaps? Make weight when fighting undersized opponents? Not that I think anything's wrong with Carano's opposition so far, her management is doing exactly what all management is supposed to be doing, building their fighter; my question, however, was aimed at measuring the skill she's displayed thus far and conjecturing how well she'd fare against the elite in her division, and in that respect, she's got wrestling work to do in order to prepare for those elites.

Originally Posted by woogle

Uh, I thought this was the women's MMA discussion thread. Surely the point is to discuss women's MMA, not who the most marketable female MMAer is.

For those who don't give a f*ck about women's MMA, but just think Gina is hot, I'm sure you'll find a "Gina Carano for prom queen" thread somewhere else on the forum.

While something I personally find objectionable, the necessity of "looks" with regard to the marketability of FeMMA is something that simply can't be overlooked. Its not going to go away any time soon and frankly its best for the sport. The crux will be whether promoters have a sense for when to cease emphasizing the point and instead focus on the sheer athleticism involved.

Originally Posted by Cube43200

Coenen looked good and done with from my angle. I saw a picture of her following the punch that indicated she was in la-la land.

Erin was also getting the better of her in the standup.

My memory is in agreement with Coenen's own post-fight interview comment on the matter. A fighter's testimony isn't always the most reliable, but her express dissatisfaction with the decision immediately after the ref called the fight lends evidence to the matter for myself... until I can find that damn DVD, its around here somewhere.

Originally Posted by Cube43200

I believe Toughill had a 10 pound weight advantage (160 vs. approximately 150); Coenen isn't small.

10lbs is a lot in every combat sport I can think of, g-money, not to mention the reach advantage.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by derUbermensch

While something I personally find objectionable, the necessity of "looks" with regard to the marketability of FeMMA is something that simply can't be overlooked. Its not going to go away any time soon and frankly its best for the sport. The crux will be whether promoters have a sense for when to cease emphasizing the point and instead focus on the sheer athleticism involved.

I don't think attention on the "looks" of a female MMA fighter is necessarily objectionable, it simply relates to the fact that most MMA fans are males.

I've noticed that when female MMA fans discuss their favorite male MMA fighters, the "looks" of the fighter come heavily into the equation (e.g. Shogun, Vitor).

It's entirely natural that when male MMA fans discuss their favorite female fighters, "looks" will play a part, just when female MMA fans discuss their favorite male fighters, "looks" will matter. This fact is a part of our biology and will never go away.

So I do believe that the "looks" of a female fighter will always play a role in how promoters market the sport to male fans, just the same way that as the female MMA fanbase develops, promoters will surely market the "handsome" male MMA fighters to them.

The key is just to find the right balance, so that any attention paid to a fighter's "looks" never overshadows the primary discussion of the fighter's athleticism or expertise.