Has WMMA evolved more than some realize?

[BigMuffler]

People like to hate on the level of skill in WMMA, but it's amazing to think it wasn't so long ago when Roxanne Modafferi was beating the thought to be unbeatable #1 female fighter Jennifer Howe to become the highest ranked woman in the world, and now she can't do anything even to TUF level fighters. It's not as if Roxanne is very old or seems physically broken down either - is the skill of girls in MMA that much higher than a couple of generations ago, or is it the physicality level which has taken a jump up?

 

[jiujitsuforever]

i wouldnt say that they developed when the #1 overall fighter wins everyfight by armbar, but they have improved overall

 

[Han Solo]

Apparently, not enough to defend an armbar

 

[londonzizou93]

Wmma will never be on the level of mma, that goes for every other sport they play.

 

[VolkHan]

sure they improved from early 2000s when Coenen and LaRosa started and the promotions with only WMMA bouts were in Japan (Smackgirl), although there's still a lot of room ...

sure they improved athletically, skillwise I think there were very good fighters even back in early years, MegaMegu began fighting as a pro in 2004.

Ah and I think the cream of the crop always been in a good part fighters from 120 lbs and less.

 

[OliverAtom]

Not as evolved as the mens but its way more evolved than the days of men's Royce Gracie era. There are BJJ blackbelts, muay thai champions, boxing champions, wrestling champions and grappling world champions and medallists in WMMA.

 

[jase0910]

Wmma will never be on the level of mma, that goes for every other sport they play.

Thank you for pounding your chest and re-asserting the dominance of the male of the species. Women sure do suck at sports, don't they?

On topic: I think WMMA will evolve along a similar trajectory as men's MMA did, only MUCH more accelerated. The training infrastructure is already in place, and the "blueprint" for becoming a well-conditioned and well-rounded MMA fighter is there to follow. Don't sleep on the women's development, because it's happening fast.

 

[pclanadmin2]

um, i don't see any male fighter winning every match with exactly the same move, without any losses which means no one can defend the exact same move, even though each opponent knows he will use only that exact same move to try to win the fight. just saying.

 

[ejlarson249]

um, i don't see any male fighter winning every match with exactly the same move, without any losses which means no one can defend the exact same move, even though each opponent knows he will use only that exact same move to try to win the fight. just saying.

This! Think Cody McKenzie.. See how that worked out for him?

 

[Harlekin]

It went from ultra awful to, I might watch their championship bouts.
So that's an improvement.

 

[jiujitsuforever]

This! Think Cody McKenzie.. See how that worked out for him?

 

[BigMuffler]

um, i don't see any male fighter winning every match with exactly the same move, without any losses which means no one can defend the exact same move, even though each opponent knows he will use only that exact same move to try to win the fight. just saying.

Maybe Rowdy is just that far above. XD

 

[C00kie]

Sucks Fujii's career came too early. WMMA has moved forward past the old guard (
Roxanne, Shayna, Finney, Kedzie, K,Young) It's still not on par with the men, but that's obvious. I do believe WMMA will evolve faster, not past, just faster than the rate we went thru. Having the women fight on the FOX cards and having the strawweight TUF on cable and not their silly fight pass app I think will really push wmma. Women aren't buying ppvs (Dana I don't believe you) but flipping channels you will catch their attention. Jessica Rakoczy vs Su-Jeong Lim would be a great free fight on Fox

 

[TSK]

I wish we could go a week or so on these boards without seeing the term "evolve" as it applies to MMA.

 

[VolkHan]

um, i don't see any male fighter winning every match with exactly the same move, without any losses which means no one can defend the exact same move, even though each opponent knows he will use only that exact same move to try to win the fight. just saying.

Different level of competition but if this guy retires now:
Olivier Aubin-Mercier

... also Paul Sass in April 2009 was 7-0 with all triangle choke wins, if only he retired ...

 

[yookfarb]

I think the cream of the crop has always been good, same thing with MMA.

Just look at Marloes Coenen, girls has been kicking ass for a decade and has stayed at essentially the very top of the foodchain for that entire period of time.

Sure, she losses once in a while, but she had her off performances back in the day too. Also, she clearly can't beat Cyborg, but that girl is an absolute fucking monster and will probably be destroying everyone in her path until it's time for her to retire.

Also, it's not like these girls train at WMMA gyms, more often than not the best train at Team Alpha Male.

 

[bagsoftea]

These female fighters are just now for the most part starting to train in elite camps with other UFC fighters. Now that there are women in the big leagues making more money the skill and interest level will skyrocket.

 

[Morphumax]

Not as evolved as the mens but its way more evolved than the days of men's Royce Gracie era. There are BJJ blackbelts, muay thai champions, boxing champions, wrestling champions and grappling world champions and medallists in WMMA.

But it IS essentially the same era for WMMA with Rousey playing Royce's part.

 

[Selukrid612]

It has evolved to the point where the women's BW champ could even beat the men's HW champ under the right circumstances.

 

[BigMuffler]

It has evolved to the point where the women's BW champ could even beat the men's HW champ under the right circumstances.

She's just that ROOOOWDY.