The Ultimate Fighting Championship is growing in popularity quicker than anyone ever imagined. People from around the world are now becoming fans of the UFC and watch every fight that is broadcast.
The sport started in November 1993 and is still going strong today. It all began with men fighting each other with nearly minimal rules.
The sport has developed so much from the early ’90s that now women are even fighting.
Women’s fighting has brought a lot of attention to the world of mixed martial arts. Women like Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate are two women fighters of world-renowned. Sometimes their fights more exciting.
So, is allowing women to fight in the UFC good or bad for the sport?
Ryan and Brendan debate in this week’s segment of the Hot Corner.
Ryan: I feel as if allowing women to fight in the UFC is bad for the sport. Now when I say “bad” I do not mean it is making the sport any less interesting or taking away from the fighting, I mean that the women have the potential to take over the sport.
This sport was created to showcase the toughest and most brutal men in the octagon and watch them beat the living heck out of each other, allowing women to have the main event just does not seem right.
Now I know 100 percent of these women could beat me up but I still think this sport was made for men to fight each other. I am all for allowing women the same opportunities as men but there should be another outlet.
Perhaps creating a women’s UFC would help. This could be a big hit because there is a majority of women who like to watch the UFC and watch the women in particular, so creating a women’s only UFC allows them to get the best of both worlds.
The women can fight and will not take anything away from the men. They still get to have their main card fights and get all of the attention.
The women deserve to have the spotlight because they work just as hard, if not harder than some of the male fighters because the odds are against them. But when you start putting male and female fights on one card it gets to be a little too much.
I am a big fan of the UFC, but I believe that allowing women to fight could come back to bite them in the long run.
Brendan: I have to disagree with Ryan on this one.
I believe having women fight in UFC is a great opportunity for women who have a passion for fighting.
Ever since the UFC was founded, women have been asking why they have not been able to participate.
By allowing women to fight they now have the chance to show the world what they are made of.
Ryan stated earlier that there should be a separate UFC for women but that would create too much confusion and would also not be as profitable.
Fans of the sport mainly enjoy the men fights and would not come to the events if the fight card were full of women fighters. The UFC made for just women would eventually lose its spark and die out.
Dana White, the president of UFC, is a very smart businessman for bringing women into the mix. He realized the media and society would generate a lot of buzz about the controversial decision and should have allowed women to fight a long time ago.
It has been just about a year since the first women jumped into the octagon and White’s decision has certainly paid off. The UFC is an organization that has one main goal: Generate as much money possible, just like the NFL and MLB. By allowing women to fight, it has done exactly that and will only create more money.
I do, however, believe women’s fighting has not been fully accepted by a lot of people. Most people think of organized fighting as two men and not two women.
People do not believe women can handle the pressure and take the punches. Over time though, society will start to appreciate the fact that women train just has hard as the men and deserve the chance at greatness.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.