Former Strikeforce women's 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman isn't happy about Ronda Rousey stealing her spot. Kaufman was tentatively scheduled to face champion Miesha Tate for the belt at a future Strikeforce show, but the flashy and brash Rousey has apparently talked her way into a title shot instead on March 3rd (the bout has been denied by both fighters, but MMA Weekly believes it will happen). Kaufman spoke to MMA Fighting about the situation:
"I think it's terrible news," the former Strikeforce 135-pound women's champ said, and you can probably guess why.
"I put in my time and, being the former champ and having had two fights since the only loss of my career, I've definitely earned the right to fight Miesha Tate and fight for the 135-pound title with Strikeforce," Kaufman explained. "Then there's Ronda, who's only been fighting for a year. Granted, she has her judo experience, but she hasn't fought anyone of a high caliber. She's fought at 145 pounds -- hasn't even competed at 135 pounds at all -- and for her to be given the opportunity to fight for the title, it's pretty ridiculous."
Kaufman also thinks Rousey has earned a title shot at 145 (where all of her fights have taken place), but she's dropping down for a reason:Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.
"She's scared to fight Cyborg, for sure, and understandably. Cyborg is a formidable fighter. But if you're saying you want a title, it shouldn't matter whether it's at 145 [pounds] or 135 [pounds]. Now she's backpedaling and saying, 'Oh, I want Cyborg to come to 135.' Or maybe she'll do it as a catchweight. Or maybe in four or five fights. She's pretty much just pushing the fight off, clearly running from it."
Does Kaufman have a case? I believe she does, but unfortunately the promotional side of fighting will usually win out in these types of situations. The public wants Tate/Rousey, not Tate/Kaufman 2 (Kaufman holds a win over Tate already). Hopefully Kaufman gets to face the winner of the rumored bout at least.
0 recs | 132 comments
Rousey would break Kaufman's arm.
av1o3 - January 5, 2012
We don't know that yet.
Rousey hasn’t taken a fight at 135 ever.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
…and yet she’s getting a title shot. I hope Tate kills this idiocy.
andrew861 - January 5, 2012
Idiocy meaning hype train, not Rousey herself :P
andrew861 - January 5, 2012
She may or she may not.
This fight looks very, very winnable for Ronda.
Unles Tate comes out and makes a statement out of her, I doubt people will start taking the 135lb division seriously. Still not that many girls being reared to fill in the ranks yet.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
How can you say that with such certainty? Rousey has yet to fight at 135lbs, though she has impressive credentials, she hasn’t even been out of the first round once.
She’s going against Tate, whose a 5 year veteran of the sport with triple the amount of fights. Rousey might very well win, but there are more deserving opponents for Tate.
andrew861 - January 5, 2012
Tate’s wrestling might give Ronda some fits, but i like it.
it’s totally fair for Kaufman to have gotten the shot, but i’m not upset about it so long as Kaufman gets the winner.
Victor Rodriguez - January 5, 2012
I say it b/c the things that Miesha does wel: clinching and scrambling, Ronda does better.
Or at the very least she has better on paper pedigree. Add to that that she should, in theory, be much stronger than Miesha.
If the fight ends quick, it will be b/c Ronda won it. Unless Miesha shows up with some new mad skills we haven’t seen her display before.
That’s what I mean by the fight being “very, very winnable for Ronda.” I’m not saying that this thing is in the bag for her.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
Understood. My bad.
I have nothing against Rousey; she’s obviously very, very talented. I simply dislike how she was able to leapfrog over Kaufman who has paid her dues for the longest time.
I agree with your assessment.
andrew861 - January 5, 2012
Kaufman = Female Fitch
IRodC - January 5, 2012
I was thinking the same thing as I read this
wyldeman99 - January 5, 2012 via Android app
Rousey has a litany of things to worry about on her own.
She should, in theory, be stronger than Miesha. But it has been shown that people who cut down too much water weight have problems putting it back on again in the span of a day (see: De la Hoya bs Pacquiao, where Oscar weighter heavier than Pacman but looked lighter the next day, on fight night). And Ronda cuts down a good amount of water weight to make 145, that means she has to lose muscle mass, which will take away some of her fast-twitch fibers she relies so much on.
Also, she’s got to get her head space in gear ‘cause the girl has suffered from bulimia before, and she’s had a bunch of nasty injuries over her career. If the going gets tough, and it may well might during her first cut down to 135, she may just go Satoshi Ishii on us. It is one thing to be a freak in the gym, and another to perform when the stakes are high and someone is trying to lop your head off: to her credit, the girl seems to be doing well in this area.
It will certainly be interesting.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
Ronda recently said she walks around near 145
Holls Hoyce - January 5, 2012
What does near mean, anyways?
Either way, I hope so. If a weightcut is too taxing, it can spell disaster for anyone.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
I heard her say she was something like 150
a couple weeks ago.
TheFilt - January 5, 2012
No idea
Heard it on the Joe Rogan podcast. I don’t think the cut will be too hard if what she says is true.
Holls Hoyce - January 5, 2012
That's where I heard
I’m pretty sure she said something close to 150. Maybe 155 at most.
TheFilt - January 5, 2012
yeah, it was 150
Grappo - January 5, 2012
She also said
She used to cut more weight in less time.
TheFilt - January 5, 2012
I’m convinced that she’s hiding some serious crazy
Just look into her eyes
Cunny - January 6, 2012
Hype train!?! What does Brock have to do with this?
memitim - January 5, 2012 via mobile
I think this fight is good for WMMA, because people truly want to see it. The match (and marketing push) has the potential to make the winner much more popular, and Kaufman herself would get a boost if she beat whoever that is.
Bolshevik - January 5, 2012
I see Kaufman controlling range and lighting Rousey up on the feet.
chrisbboy82 - January 5, 2012
If they ever fought of course.
chrisbboy82 - January 5, 2012
Maybe for a while
but sooner or later Rousey will get a grab of her and will toss her to the ground. I don’t think Kaufman can stop the takedown.
av1o3 - January 5, 2012
I am a fan of Rousey, but she comes off as very green to me. She really reaches to get that clinch, and even against Julia Budd, she got tagged for it. She’s aggressive about getting the clinch and subsequent takedown, but it comes off as a bit reckless. I personally feel that as good as Rousey’s pedigree in Judo is, she is still just so green in MMA.
chrisbboy82 - January 6, 2012
Which doesn't really matter when most women can't stop the takedown.
discoandherpes - January 6, 2012
I guess that we’ll have to see then. As much as I am a fan of Rousey, I am not convinced that her judo has transferred that well into MMA but that her competition just isn’t that strong. For example, even against Sarah D’Alelio, she missed the initial takedown, and then went for the flying armbar. I think that Kaufman is on another level than Rousey’s past opponents, and I just can’t see Rousey getting that clinch so easily on Kaufman (if they ever fought).
chrisbboy82 - January 6, 2012
Her competition will never really be that strong
There are not that many good female fighters.
discoandherpes - January 6, 2012
I’d like to see Rousey vs Sara McMann as there could have some very high level grappling there. I think that Rousey vs Kaufman would be good as well.
chrisbboy82 - January 7, 2012
Only if Sarah accidentally broke it
while pummeling Rousey into ground beef
ElliotMatheny - January 6, 2012
I agree %100 with Kaufman.
J_Maddux - January 5, 2012
I understand her point but I gotta say
Earl Montclair - January 5, 2012
OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK SHIT RATINGS.
DEAL WITH IT with those countless millions u got
yellopanda - January 5, 2012
Once Rousey armbars Tate
Kaufman will get her shot and get her arm ripped off too.
OleksiyPecherovsHomeboy - January 5, 2012
Pass the magic 8-ball, man. I have some questions of my own.
What do you mean you don’t have one?
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
Agreed
Rousey is on a completely different level. Women’s combat sports isn’t well-developed in America. Saying that she wrestled in high school is nothing by comparison to what Rhonda accomplished through USA Judo, and the fact that she won a bronze medal shows even more. Kyra Gracie and Cyborg are the only ones that will make a good fight for Ronda. Miesha will lose in less than a minute.
RobMMADork - January 5, 2012
Dude, that's nuts.
While possible, there is no way it immediately translates into an absolute like that. Your reasoning is slanted.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
i like ronda and i hope you’re right…
Hellkat - January 6, 2012
Keith Jardine has not fought at 185 yet he is getting a title shot.
Rousey, a fan favorite, getting a title shot before Kaufman is no surprise. If nobody wants to fight Kaufman why doesn’t she go up and fight cyborg?
IRodC - January 5, 2012
Jardine is also coming off a draw (should be a loss though)
av1o3 - January 5, 2012
the thing is if you ignore the fact its a title match Jardine makes a lot of sense for Rockhold at this stage of his career
davec84 - January 5, 2012
Not really
Jardine is definitely a step down from Jacare. Only problem is the shallowness in SF now.
av1o3 - January 5, 2012
yeah but i would argue that even though he won the Jacare fight it came very early in his career, a couple of fights with some veteran journeymen(if he beats jardine i’d maybe look at giving him someone like Cote) would be good for his development.
davec84 - January 5, 2012
Let's be fair.
Sarah Kaufmann is already pretty big for 135 — and she’s probably scared to death of Cyborg, too.
McKinley B. Noble - January 5, 2012 via iPhone app
Honestly how many people wanted to see Tate Kaufman, Rousey is clearly the best choice
davec84 - January 5, 2012
Still sucks that Sarah is getting shafted like that.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
she can get the next one Rousey is on a roll you have to go with her
davec84 - January 5, 2012
Well ...
No one WANTS to shaft Sarah … which is why she’s been shunted aside in favor of Rousey for the sexpot fight (sexpot for MMA, that is).
That is all.
glib_mf - January 5, 2012
I don't see why this Kaufman person is complaining, she hasn't even won 5 in a row since she lost her last championship fight!
Machiel Van - January 5, 2012
Look, it's Wolverine!
He must fight like a berserk!!!!!!
killphil - January 6, 2012
A wolverine
spliced with a fucking chimp.
SentientAndroid - January 6, 2012
Don't... care...
Horselover Fat - January 6, 2012
Jardine gets a title shot in his first fight at 185, Rousey gets a title shot in her first fight at 135
Earl Montclair - January 5, 2012
Basically, sir.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
Vitor Belfort was almost as bad.
Bolshevik - January 5, 2012
at least he had fought at MW before.
Earl Montclair - January 5, 2012
Yeah, the one potential huge problem I see is Rousey being unable to make the cut and embarrassing SF/WMMA. But she seems pretty disciplined.
Bolshevik - January 5, 2012
She doesn't have to cut all that much weight
She’s been cutting weight her whole life for Judo and she’s also working with a nutritionist I believe.
TheFilt - January 5, 2012
don't forget rogers getting one after losing to fedor
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
Damn, Strikeforce gives not one fuck about their match making!
SentientAndroid - January 6, 2012
Giant
Gonzalez?
aeonplague - January 5, 2012
I’ll watch ‘em all fight. I don’t care what order it happens in, and I don’t care if it’s for a belt. I completely understand why they may feel these are important considerations even though I do not.
some schmuck in texas - January 5, 2012
We're talking about the Strikeforce women's bantamweight division
That’s like a triple threat of public disinterest. If they can put together a fight in that division that even a small portion of the MMA community is interested in, that’s the fight they’ve gotta book.
simpsycho - January 5, 2012
I think you’ve summed it up sir.
Chris Sarda - January 5, 2012
Agreed
This is the fight the people want.
initials - January 5, 2012
i want kaufman -tate . i want rousey to back up her mouth , just like cyborg says she talks too much . when cyborg had no contract rousey was always talking about taking the belt from cyborg now they are in the same org and cyborg has resigned , rousey ducks and starts making excuses .
robbyedRobby Edwards - January 5, 2012
BAM.
Triple threat of public disinterest pretty much sums it up.
McKinley B. Noble - January 5, 2012 via iPhone app
It's ok Sarah, you can still sign up and learn!
Machiel Van - January 5, 2012
actually more people are interested in whether kaufmans first win over tate was for real . only certain web sites that rousey is promoting herself on are the ones saying the public is interested . a small portion of guys that just look at the women as sex models might be i nterested but these are not the fans that make your sport succeed . the public interest is actually whether rousey can give cyborg a fight , cyborgf wants it , and rousey wanted it until cyborg had a new contract then now all of a sudden she don’t want to fight cyborg . ha ha i wonder i guess its called scared.if you want a title rousey go fight cyborg hell strikeforcew will book that fight right now , and i defy anyone to say that fight doesn’t get alot of attention because we all know how huge carano -cyborg was , even coenen -cyborg was a bigf draw , rousey – cyborg is the biggest fight oin wmma right now and rousey is too scared to take it
robbyedRobby Edwards - January 5, 2012
why comment when you can rec?
Dave Strummer - January 5, 2012
Fantastic line
Cunny - January 6, 2012
Kaufman should go up and fight Cyborg. If she wins, she gets the 145 title, if she loses she will get a title shot because she is in Strikeforce
IRodC - January 5, 2012
I'd like to tell you that you are being nutty.
But this is Strikeforce: The fight org of Fun.
Unabomberman - January 5, 2012
So Kaufman should go up to 145 and do what Rousey was too scared to do? How about this Kaufman fights Tate for the 135lb title and Rousey stays at 145 and fights for Cyborg’s title? If Rousey want’t a title that badly she has an open shot at 145, she should take it.
jdark - January 5, 2012 via mobile
If Kaufman is so convinced Rousey is scared, why doesn’t she do it herself. By that logic Kaufman is scared as well. She could easily do the same thing.
discoandherpes - January 6, 2012
Sarah's
not the one changing divisions, so why should she, just because Ronda did? There’s no question Rousey doesn’t want to fight Cyborg right now at 145. There’s little doubt they’d give her that match straight away if she asked for it. I can’t say I blame her for wanting to get more experience or even forcing Cyborg to cut weight, but I think it’s pretty obvious she doesn’t want that fight right now.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
right
she wants that fight after she gets the 135 belt.
Grappo - January 6, 2012
Makes more business sense.
A fight with Cyborg is a one shot thing, because if she does beat Cyborg then she has cleaned out the 145 division.
discoandherpes - January 6, 2012
Re: business sense
And if she cleans out the 145 lb division (putting aside a rematch with Cyborg or Carano somehow returning), they can set up a ’Battle of Champions" at 135 or 140, allowing them to market the same fight they have now, except with two title holders.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
She maybe wants it
and likely at a catchweight. I’m betting it’s more likely she’ll stay at 135 lbs and defend the title there, most likely (hopefully) vs Kaufman.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
Sarah should have been saying these things since day 1. Instead all she could say was that Rousey had never fought in the division before. While at the very same time Rousey a full media blitz to get the first shot at Tates belt.
Sarah should have gone on the same media blitz saying excactly what she said in this article. Now its too late.
jdark - January 6, 2012 via mobile
This just in
Sour grapes taste sour.
TheFilt - January 5, 2012
Kaufman needs to don some booty shorts before her comments can sufficiently be considered.
I understand how sex appeal should not be an issue in the argument, blah blah blah. But at the end of the day, would you rather watch the uniforms of the WNBA, or women in volleyball clothes? All I’m saying is, if you’re female, please try to celebrate the female form—not cover it up.
Leevancleef - January 5, 2012
No.
cmons - January 5, 2012 via mobile
i would understand booking the title @145 because the div is weak , but THE 135 DIV has a pretty obvious number 1 contender and that is the fight the public wants to see , esp considering KAUFMAN already has beaten tate . its only rousey pushing for this fight for 2 reasons 1.- she is scared of cyborg
plain and simple all her excuses about tate being a bigger fight is bullshit , EVERYONE IS INTERESTED IN SEEING IF THIS MOUTHY ROUSEY WILL BACK IT UP AGAINST CYBORG ( esp considering top level grappling usually wins over striking ) (THE CYBORG FIGHT IS MUCH BIGGER . 2. the second reason is rousey is way bigger than tate and rousey grappling skills are at least as good as if not better than tates . rousey knows tate has no stand up and she knows against cyborg she is going to get hit before she gets the clinch . against tate , not likely to get hit as tates stand up is poor to say the least . anyone who wants the women to be looked at as legitamate fighters knows that booking tate -kaufman is the right thin g , if its a side show ( only hot girls should fight , rouseys idea) book tate – rousey . that definately sends a message that it only matters what you look like , your figfhting skills don’t matter. thats the message taterousey sends and that is bull shitand should not be supported by anybody supporting wmma . its very easy to promote kaufman -tate 2 iit follows right behind edgar – maynard these are what sell fights.robbyedRobby Edwards - January 5, 2012
Strikethroughfarce?
Machiel Van - January 5, 2012
Sarah Kaufman screwed Sarah Kaufman
its a popularity contest out there these days & shes just not in the running…to start jibber jabbin now is pointless you should have been barking up that tree 3weeks ago… Get with it or don’t fucking complain… Doesn’t hurt that these 2 competitors show a lot of sex appeal in a majority male fan base either… Yeah popularity, cleavage, booty shorts none of this should matter BUT it does Sarah oh how it does…
RECE ROCK - January 5, 2012 via mobile
I find myself wondering what the size of even the potential fanbase for WMMA is. I enjoy it, but I haven’t personally met many people who aren’t flat out bothered by the idea of professional female fighters. It just seems like there’s a stigma in the general public about women competing in combat sports. It’s unfortunate, but I just see this as a big problem facing the potential growth of WMMA. I think Rousey, in the end, has the right attitude to try and bring them more visibility. Not every female fighter has that “it” factor though. Sarah just needs to be satisfied she gets to fight good competitors and not worry about the notoriety of the championship; it’s not like holding the belt brought her much attention in the first place, only her outspoken complaining did that (hmmmm… now that I write that…). If she really thinks she’s the best, she just needs to keep winning. Strikeforce’s female roster is small enough that they can’t really give her the “Fitch treatment.”
Machiel Van - January 5, 2012
not that this matters for fans/viewers overall. but my girlfriend is pretty much forced to watch the mma i watch. out of all the fights she has seen (which is a lot), the rousey/bud fight actually got her attention. she made me rewind it to watch it again. some of her comments were, she’s good looking and whipped that girls ass. when she watched cyborg her comments were not very favorable… lol. i have no problem if they use their good looks as long as they actually have some skill and go out there to fight…
Hellkat - January 6, 2012
Yeah it was odd to me too
That she decided to fight at 145 and run through people in that weight class and now instead of doing the logical thing and fighting Cyborg for the 145 lb title she all of a sudden wants to drop to 135 to fight Miesha. But whatevz, Sarah already had the belt and got armbarred by Marloes Coenen. Time to give someone else a chance who can draw viewers.
Rob Young - January 5, 2012 via mobile
For the two year from 1/1/10 to 12/31/11, over 31 events, Strikeforce put on only 25 female fights. If the average fighter fights 3 times a year, Strikeforce put on enough fights to employ the equivalent of 8 full time female fighters during those years. With the number of Strikeforce events getting halved, Strikeforce will only provide enough fights to employ the equivalent of 4 full time female fighters.
Jahbulon - January 5, 2012
To Strikeforce’s credit, they are really beefing up their prelims. In the past, their prelims were terrible in that they would have amateur fights and homegrown guys on there. I can see Strikeforce utilize their prelims more for Womens fights, and with the dismantling of the Heavyweight Division and how small the other divisions are, I can see equal if not more Womens fights on Strikeforce either on the main card, but most likely on the prelims.
chrisbboy82 - January 5, 2012
Sorry Sarah
But women’s MMA is way to shallow for me to feel bad about you having “done your time.” You have two wins in 2011, your best one being Liz Carmouche in a decision. This isn’t a robbery. You have to look at the quality of wins as well.
Besides, the fact that Rousey hasn’t fought at 135 doesn’t make much sense when she used to cut to 135 for judo so it’s not as though it’s a completely unfamiliar cut for her.
Scott Whitaker - January 5, 2012
Exactly, and the other fight she won was against some Megumi Yabushita who currently sports a 19-19 record. It’s not like she has gone on a Fitch type tear through the division.
Horselover Fat - January 6, 2012
Except
What quality wins does Rousey have? Carmouche was better than anyone Rousey has faced.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
Doesn’t matter. Can’t keep recycling Tate and Kaufman forever. She’ll get her shot after this one.
Horselover Fat - January 6, 2012
A second match
is not forever. As long as she does, that’s fine, though. I am curious where the evidence that Tate-Rousey is more sought after than Tate-Kaufman is, beyond Ronda just stating it.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
I don’t think there is any empirical evidence as such. But the feeling around the internet blogs and message boards and whatnot seem to be that slightly more people are interested in Rousey – Tate than anything involving Kaufman. I don’t think it’s going to do huge blockbuster numbers or anything like that, but probably a little bit better at least. I’d most likely watch both fights, but I’m definitely more interested in Rousey – Tate.
Horselover Fat - January 6, 2012
Jon Fitch has never teared through any division
Besides the point, but I agree otherwise
discoandherpes - January 6, 2012
Don't get me wrong, I'll watch either fight when its on but
man do I ever not give 2shits about WMMA and the politics that goes along with them
1N87 - January 6, 2012
Strikeforce doesn't want to repeat past mistakes.
If Rousey fought Cyborg she would get beat mercilessly. She is beautiful and very marketable. She has a good chance of beating Tate and becoming the next Gina Carano. Plain and simple her best chance of becoming a champion and earning some face time in the media are at 135. If she stayed at 145 she will be destroyed.
knowone - January 6, 2012
Not sure about that.
Cyborg’s BJJ is pretty much blocking a submission and then smashing the opponent. I think if Cyborg keeps it standing, Rousey will get lit up. But the ground, I don’t belive Cyborg can stop Rousey’s grappling. There are just not enough top quality women in the 145 for us to know for sure how Rousey would fare against a top level opponent. But I’m also not sure how Cyborg would respond to Rousey’s grappling.
killphil - January 6, 2012
Cyborg is pretty awkward on the ground, especially in MMA
That fight hits the ground Rousey is getting a submission.
discoandherpes - January 6, 2012
Then it shouldnt be a problem for her to take the Cyborg fight first. Once upon a time she claimed she wanted both belts. If she beat Cyborg then she could drop and take the 135 belt. Ronda isn’t doing that because she knows she would get whipped.
Because she knows she would get whipped a fight with Cyborg is never gonna happen unless Cyborg drops to 135 and goes on a title run.
jdark - January 6, 2012 via mobile
Kaufmann's had the last 6 months to make her case
Since Tate won the title in July. Rousey’s just savvy enough to play the game better than these two.
KJ Gould - January 6, 2012
exactly... too little too late...
RECE ROCK - January 6, 2012
No doubt
that once Rousey started talking, Sarah should have been firing back constantly, but she shouldn’t have had to make a case at all was her point, as she was the clear one next in line.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
Ronda is the new shiny object and is on a 4 win streak… Sarah is the old boring thing that is only on a two win streak… I understand that WMMA’s very thin, but to claim you deserve a title shot after just winning two, that’s ridiculous.
Shnak - January 6, 2012
ummm, no
To claim you deserve a title shot after 4 professional fights against thin competition in a different division is what’s ridiculous (or at least ridiculous in terms of competitive sports fairness). Sarah’s definitely more deserving based on merit (14-1 with a win over the champ).
shim23 - January 6, 2012
Sarah Kaufman is a good fighter as far as WMMA goes BUT...
Uno – Sex sells and she’s not “sexy” (why this is the sad realty of WMMA/society isn’t something I’ll go into here)
Zwei – Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey are both “sexy” (
Trois – Since she started fighting decent opposition she has had one finish (poor Roxi), we’re not going to count that can she crushed in Canada, whereas the title challenger (Rousey) has finished all of her fights (in the first goddamn round).
Four – ENOUGH WITH THE COMBAT CORNROWS, I LOVE PIZZA [drops mic]
menckenstein - January 6, 2012
I hate you for using all different languages for the numbers there
Horselover Fat - January 6, 2012
Fugly girls finish last
And rightly so
taptomyarmbar - January 6, 2012
Well
I wouldn’t say Kaufman is ugly. Not at all, actually.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
She's below plain
Cunny - January 6, 2012
opinions vary
Personally, I think she has a prettier face than any of them (save Carano).
shim23 - January 6, 2012
For real?!
Cunny - January 6, 2012
Yes
Not that Tate and Rousey aren’t very good looking…but everyone admits that.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
As for having the right look to be given opportunities
That argument has also been made in men’s MMA, most notably by Matty Lindland regarding the UFC favouring Rich Franklin in promotion and opportunity at middleweight. Physique is a marketable attribute, it’s why Roy Nelson could only get into the UFC via TUF and yet Tod Duffee got in with 5 fights. Nelson is clearly the better fighter, but I think even Dana remarked how awful he looks long before he was on TUF.
Image is everything.
KJ Gould - January 6, 2012
That's why people still buy Land Rovers
menckenstein - January 6, 2012
Yeah ...
Pretty much the only people to have Land Rovers where I live are farmers. And they’re the old school ones that don’t break down.
KJ Gould - January 6, 2012
Defenders are fucking AMAZING!!!!!!(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FUCKYES)
but the street assault vehicles that they sell for rich soccer moms in the US are shit. They’re literally the only thing I’d ever buy an extended warranty on and they spend more time in the shop than on the road.
menckenstein - January 6, 2012
When things like this happen
it adds an element of sports entertainment, as opposed to just a sport. That’s fine, if that’s how they want MMA seen.
As for the division not being deep enough…how deep does it need to be to sustain? They have plenty of talent (more if Coenen could return and if LaRosa could add weight), and I’m betting that as many people want to see WMMA as they do the 4th or 5th male fight on a card. Seriously, what kind of ratings bump does Dana think he’s gonna get by replacing the top women fighters with mediocre male ones?
shim23 - January 6, 2012
people really need to get over this shit.
All sports are entertainment, sports that aren’t entertaining don’t make money and they die. MMA has the ability to fuck with matchups this way because the people only fight a few times a year. If the Yankees only played 3 games a year, they would never play the orioles and the Rays would have no chance of getting to the world series, but they make more money playing 162 games a year. Also note that the other games make tons of decisions that are based on entertainment value all the time in order to make more money, teams from the same division can’t play each other until the CS in baseball, unbalanced schedules, changing rules, etc etc.
Boxing and the UFC can make more money screwing around and playing the matchups to make the most money, and that’s what they should do, because if they don’t they die.
Phildo - January 6, 2012
Not exactly
In baseball/football etc, you’re rewarded on merit (record/wins in the playoffs) regardless of your appeal (eg – see last year’s World Series), so that’s really what i saying there…sports instead of sports entertainment. The Yankees don’t play 3 games a year, so that makes no sense, but football teams DO play only 16 regular season ones, and they play, without fail, every team in their division twice, regardless of how much of a slaughter or ratings-killer it is.
In any case, I didn’t say they shouldn’t do it…just expect that you get things like this (ie – questions about the validity/professionality of it all).
shim23 - January 6, 2012
16 is a lot more than 3, and lol at division games being “ratings killers” they are designed to make money and they do. Thats why the Cowboys are in the “east”
The whole “merit” argument goes out the window when $$$ designs the whole system.
Phildo - January 6, 2012
that's not the point
3, 16 what’s the difference? And there’s still at best flimsy evidence that Rousey-Tate, which won’t be the main event anyway, will get substantially better ratings than Kaufman-Tate.
Division games – yeah, and I’m sure people are dying to see Yanks-Bal each year, or dying to see the 49ers play the Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks this year.
Re: merit – no the point is that you go to the playoffs and championship based solely on merit (conspiracy theories aside). It doesn’t matter that MLB would have made more money with a Yankees Atlanta WS…they didn’t win, they don’t go. So while the overall system might be based on $$$, during the season it’s on how you do.
Of course, to be fair, it is a little different in boxing/MMA, as there is no set way to determine ‘top contender,’ but I can certainly understand why Sarah is so upset, espeically considering how few MMA matches are this year (meaning the earliest she’s gonna get a title shot now is what…the beginning of the summer?).
shim23 - January 6, 2012
it is not solely on merit, if it was solely on merit the teams with the best records would get in. Every year teams with better records stay home because of the division (that was designed because of money) that they were in.
And yes, Yanks Orioles isn’t really ratings barnburner on TV, but it sells a boatload of tickets in Baltimore, and makes them a bunch of money. Every thing in sports is about money, very little is about merit, stop crying about it in mma, because it’s the same way in every sport in the universe.
Phildo - January 6, 2012
theres a huge difference
between the division setup (which is, indeed, bs) and what’s happening here, and I assume you know that, so no it isn’t the same thing that happens in all sports. The wild cards partially compensate for it as well.
In any case, you’re taking things way to far to make your soapbox comments about money in sports (ie – “very little merit” is ridiculous).
shim23 - January 6, 2012
Mediocre male fighers
Are better than elite female fighters from a technical standpoint for the most part.
discoandherpes - January 6, 2012
But are they better
Than the top females we’re talking about here, from a technical standpoint? I’m only a cursory follower of the sport, but from what I’ve read/seen, not at all (ie – though smaller and unable to compete directly, they’d be on par with the top male fighters).
shim23 - January 6, 2012
To clarify
Tate’s wrestling, Rousey’s judo, Sarah’s striking, Cyborg’s power/sheer ferocity…technically speaking…seem to be on par with the top male fighter’s skills from what I can tell.
shim23 - January 6, 2012
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