Is WMMA Finally an Elite Women's Sport?

[Anewt]

Yeah they are. The money's pretty good bar comparisons with tennis . A lot of people on here claim nfl and basketball are the elite mens sport because of $$$. There's very few contact/ combat sports. UFC champion earns a lot in comparison to women's rugby/ boxing/ kickboxing etc.

It's a elite sport ,
Feb 2013 was the first women's fight in ufc. ( rhonda)
7 years on a savage like Nunez holds it. Great improvement.

Ufc men had Royce Gracie. 7 years on Tito. Pat miletech.

Do you consider ufc in the year 2000 elite ?

 

[SKYNET]

If WMMA can eventually feature a legit top 3 to 5 at each weight class then maybe, but right now there is a handful of "elite" talent at the top and the rest is basically just crossing their fingers

I would say check back around 2025

 

[58miles]

Yeah they are. The money's pretty good bar comparisons with tennis . A lot of people on here claim nfl and basketball are the elite mens sport because of $$$. There's very few contact/ combat sports. UFC champion earns a lot in comparison to women's rugby/ boxing/ kickboxing etc.

It's a elite sport ,
Feb 2013 was the first women's fight in ufc. ( rhonda)
7 years on a savage like Nunez holds it. Great improvement.

Ufc men had Royce Gracie. 7 years on Tito. Pat miletech.

Do you consider ufc in the year 2000 elite ?

I just don't see WMMA having anywhere near the depth of competition as women's gymnastics, tennis or track and field. I also can't imagine a metric where Amanda Nunes, Valentina or Joanna compare favorably to Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky or Serena Williams when talking about elite female athletes. The level of competition those women face is leagues above anything the exists in WMMA.

 

[StanClarker]

Nothing elite about it, couldn't be further from that word.

Too rough, Scott, too rough....

 

[frederick]

No.

 

[StanClarker]

Could be knighted as the pinnacle in WMMA.

In 2020 it will be 5 years since the first legit WMMA superstar Ronda Rousey got brutally KTFO by Holly Holm.
If WMMA is not yet an elite women's sport how much longer will it take? 5 more years, 10, 20 or it will never be an elite women's sport?

The entire sport is going backwards... and within that, WMMA is sliding forwards.

Conor rolling over Cowboy rnd. 1; Jon Jones 5 rnd. stumbling against Reyes; Corey Anderson's 1st rnd. wipe out... vs. Rose Namajunas TKO'ing Joanna Jedrzejecyk 1st rnd.;Zhang pummeling Jessica Andrade 1` rnd; some WMMA up & comers doing decent.

 

[MarcusAuerelius]

In 2020 it will be 5 years since the first legit WMMA superstar Ronda Rousey got brutally KTFO by Holly Holm. In the 5 years since has WMMA evolved to the point where it has enough depth of competition to be called an elite sport along with women's tennis, swimming, gymnastics or soccer? How do today's wmma greats like Amanda Nunes, Valentina, Cyborg and Weili Zhang stack up against the greats in other sports like Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe?

If WMMA is not yet an elite women's sport how much longer will it take? 5 more years, 10, 20 or it will never be an elite women's sport?

Well lets just say when a woman in your gif beat a woman in your avatar for the best athlete of the year, i lost my sh!t

 

[Kyojiro Kagenuma]

Is Weili Zhang really a wmma great? I would put Joanna over her on that list as of right now.

Of course Joanna is above her, she has way more accomplishments. Now. Let's see how things look 5 years from now.

 

[58miles]

Well lets just say when a woman in your gif beat a woman in your avatar for the best athlete of the year, i lost my sh!t

Ronda was also voted GOAT female athlete over Serena in a ESPN poll in before her loss to Holm.

 

[IDGETKTFO]

Ironically, watching that fight makes wmma look like amatuers. Which is crazy considering how dominant rousey was before that fight. But it just goes to show how terrible wmma still is. And also how dumb, or shill Joe Rogan is. And i like Joe, but come on bro...

 

[I am your real dad]

Wmma is a elite WOMENS sport.


Its just, all female sports are terrible because women are terrible at sports.

A females primary function is to make more humans. A males primary function is to protect young humans and females.

I will tell you another thing women are good at........


.....making sandwiches.

 

[MarcusAuerelius]

Ronda was also voted GOAT female athlete over Serena in a ESPN poll in before her loss to Holm.

yep... and trust me I much prefer MMA (even WMMA) to tennis... but I was laughing so hard... Serena coming back incomparable to Honda 'domination nation' one in a lifetime athlete...

 

[I am your real dad]

 

[I am your real dad]

 

[Thisisme2]

Lol no

 

[julmma]

an elite sport along with women's tennis, swimming, gymnastics or soccer?

lol at soccer being elite

 

[Anewt]

I just don't see WMMA having anywhere near the depth of competition as women's gymnastics, tennis or track and field. I also can't imagine a metric where Amanda Nunes, Valentina or Joanna compare favorably to Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky or Serena Williams when talking about elite female athletes. The level of competition those women face is leagues above anything the exists in WMMA.

Oh I get that. But I feel the same way about a lot of sports. $$$ doesn't mean elite. Although it certainly helps. But in terms of athletic prowess with a fighting mindset I'd call em elite. I was calling professional fighters elite athletes 7 years into mma. I'll do the same here

 

[kungfu_taichi]

I'm a WMMA fan, but the answer is no. Atomweight and strawweight have great skill and depth, but the knockout threat is largely absent.

Virtually every other 125er look ... raw ... vs Shevchenko. Her next two opponents are probably Calderwood and Modafferi. Those aren't even co-mains.

135 has skilled kickboxers, skilled grappers ... and Nunes. Ground out de Randamie, knocked out Holm knocked out Cyborg, knocked out Rousey, submitted Tate. Five fighters who will remembered as foundations of the sport, and she rolled throught them EXACTLY the way she planned.

WMMA needs a good solid fifteen years. So today's five year old can get star-struck, learn everything and hit the regionals at age twenty with a complete, however not quite polished, skillset. The women are where the men were in 2005. Maybe 2010. It's on the right track, but even fans of the women know the sport isn't fully developed yet.

 

[LetThemBleed]

Ronda was also voted GOAT female athlete over Serena in a ESPN poll in before her loss to Holm.

Really? Damn people were sipping the kool aid because that's just stupid.

 

[Sausage_Carius]

I'm a WMMA fan, but the answer is no. Atomweight and strawweight have great skill and depth, but the knockout threat is largely absent.

Virtually every other 125er look ... raw ... vs Shevchenko. Her next two opponents are probably Calderwood and Modafferi. Those aren't even co-mains.

135 has skilled kickboxers, skilled grappers ... and Nunes. Ground out de Randamie, knocked out Holm knocked out Cyborg, knocked out Rousey, submitted Tate. Five fighters who will remembered as foundations of the sport, and she rolled throught them EXACTLY the way she planned.

WMMA needs a good solid fifteen years. So today's five year old can get star-struck, learn everything and hit the regionals at age twenty with a complete, however not quite polished, skillset. The women are where the men were in 2005. Maybe 2010. It's on the right track, but even fans of the women know the sport isn't fully developed yet.

They need to get more bodies into the sport. The UFC is trying with its PIs all over the place but it's not enough. They can't afford to wait for it to happen on its own.

They need to ditch the celebrity investors draining them dry. WME is effectively using the UFC as a cash cow but at the cost of growing the sport. They cut back on almost everything including pay. It's why they had such a hard time getting Conor back. Everyone's pay went into the shitter. Probably why Joanna posted how depressed she was immediately after meeting with Dana for her title fight. She used to make a decent chunk but those days are over. She might make slightly above Chook for her title fight vs Weili. Probably made more fighting Waterson on an old contract. Let that shit sink in.

Fans need to put most of the blame on the promotion. With a lack of pay you just won't attract more talent that will seek an easier career elsewhere. Plus they play hardball with their favorites. How do people think they treat the rank and file. That said combat sports in general, for women especially, pays shit. Good luck growing the sport.