Whoa TV, that “women shouldn’t compete in MMA because this sport is for men. There are a lot of sports where women look like women – like gymnastics, water sports, maybe some athletics.” This echoes reports of past comments from Emelianenko, such as; “A woman must be a domestic goddess, raise her children and be feminine. There a lot of different sports which help her in that. But MMA is not one of them.” Statements such as these are unhelpful for MMA, as they reinforce outside criticism of perceived misogyny in the sport. Isolated incidents of MMA competitors involved domestic violence seem to have recently permeated mainstream headlines, ahead of the many great sporting achievements, all the everyday stories of sportsmanship, charity and humanity. When someone in Emelianenko’s position speaks in this way it serves to confirm public fears and undermine the core value of respect inherent in martial arts practice. In contrast to Fedor’s anachronistic comments, MMA as a new 21st century sport has significantly bucked sports tradition in its fast assimilation of women. In most territories across the world, women have been able to train and compete wherever they have been accepted into gyms and by promoters – who have often identified a commercial value in women’s bouts. Compare this to boxing, in which women’s fights were effectively outlawed for most of its history. The International Olympic Committee finally approved the inclusion of women’s boxing for the Olympic Games for as late as 2012. In the United Kingdom the B.B.B.C. had refused to issue licences to women until 1998. Marathon running also lies among sports that were considered damaging to women’s health. 1967, Katherine Switzer was the first woman to “officially” run the Boston Marathon with a number, albeit by administrative “oversight”. She was later decreed in “flagrant violation of the rules”. It wasn’t until 1972 that women were truly officially allowed to compete in the Boston Marathon, or until 1988 that they were permitted to compete in an Olympic Marathon. Meanwhile the FA considered “…the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged” up until sometime in the 80s when attitudes began to shift. Despite Emelianenko’s comments and media perception, the speed in which MMA fans have embraced women’s divisions has been notable. With MMA’s Unified Rules first being laid down as recently as 2000 under US athletic Commissions, cited lack of depth in women’s weight divisions has not proved a bar for long. The first women’s fight to headline a major televised event came in 2009 when Gina Carano faced Cristiane “Cyborg”Santos for the Strikeforce Women’s Championship. Carano quickly moved onto movie stardom. Flagship international all women’s promotion, Invicta FC, was then founded in 2012. Currently, Olympian Ronda Rousey stands as one of MMA’s biggest names globally, and as the UFC’s undefeated Bantamweight champion is a celebrated face of the sport. Speaking on behalf of IMMAF, CEO Densign White, said: “The IMMAF is wholly supportive of women’s participation in MMA. MMA is a sport for all. We have the second IMMAF World Championships of Amateur MMA taking place in Las Vegas this year in July and, as last year, women athletes will be participating in this great sporting event”. Words by IMMAF Communications Director, Izzy Carnwath]]>
