Bell

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InvictaFC vet Amanda Bell will be heading north of the border to take on Charmaine Tweet at Battle of the Border II card in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada June 1. Heather Martin was originally set to fight on the card, but dropped off due to injury.

Bell is coming off a pro debut loss to Tammika Brents at InvictaFC 4 this past January. In her amateur career, she went 7-1, including a win over Jessamyn Duke.

Tweet (3-3) is currently on a two fight win streak coming off a first round rear naked choke victory over Sy Jewett.

No word on if the match will be streamed.

Pawelek

Law

Two undefeated amateur bantamweights will square off at King of the Cage June 13th in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, as Roma Pawelek will take on Katie Law.

Pawelek (3-0) is coming off a first round TKO over Brittany Viets at Fightforce in Helena, MT in March. The boxing and BJJ expert is currently training out of Eugene, OR.

Law (3-0) submitted Mari Mata with a 90 second armbar at Olympic Combat Challenge II at Port Angeles, WA in March. She trains out of Spokane, WA, and will be the hometown girl for the fight.

The match will be taped to air on MAV-TV and Fox Sports regional networks.

With over 50 pro bouts this month alone, a lot of shifting happened in all division. With new champions crowned and the new UFC bantamweight division opening up, new stars climbed and others took a step back.

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Waterson

With Michelle Waterson gaining the InvictaFC atomweight title, she takes the #1 spot away from former champion Jessica Penne who drops to #2. Naho Sugiyama drops to #3.

With her win over Cassie Rodish at InvictaFC, Simona Soukupova enter the atomweight rankings at #7. Rodish drops to #8. Lacey Schuckman takes the #6 spot.

Both Stephanie Frausto and Diana Rael drop to the #9 and #10 spots respectfully. Sadae Numuta drops off the rankings.

Honchak

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With her flyweight title win over Vanessa Porto, newly crowned champ Barb Honchak stands atop of the 125 division. Jessica Eye drops to the second spot.

Rosi Sexton drops off the list due to inactivity in the division, so Michele Ould (now #3), and Vanessa Porto (now #4) move up a spot.

After Jennifer Maia defeated Zoila Gurgel earlier this month, Maia enters the rankings at the #5 spot. Gurgel drops to #7. Munah Holland moves up to #6.

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Zingano

In the bantamweight divsion…

With her win over Miesha Tate, the #1 contender for the UFC title Cat Zingano moves to #3 in the rankings. Tate drops to the sixth spot, while Alexis Davis drops to #4.

Kaufman, with her win over Leslie Smith, stays pat at #2.

With her win this past weekend over Sheila Gaff, Sarah McMann takes the #5 spot.

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Justino

Entering the featherweight rankings after over a year hiatus, Cyborg Justino (nee Santos) returns at #4 in the rankings with her win over Fiona Muxlow. Muxlow drops from #6 to #9.

Tammika Breants (now #6), Peggy Morgan (now #7), and Gabrielle Holloway (now #8) all move up a place.

Germaine de Randamie has dropped off the list as she has dropped to bantamweight.

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The only shift in the strawweights are Joanne Calderwood and Mei Yamaguchi straing spots with Calderwood now #7 and Yamaguchi at #8.

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You can see the complete list of the May 2013 rankings here.

Before Invicta, promoter Belinda Dunne was holding all female cards on a yearly basis in New Zealand. She still does, with a female Muay Thai event last month, plus a MMA event planned for the fall.

Dunne has been working to get a documentary going to showcase her fighters, and detail the history of women in Mixed martial arts. She recently visited the states to start help look for distributors, and make the movie a reality.

She released a teaser trailer below. You can see more about the “Princesses of Pain” promotion on their facebook.

The past decade has brought a revolution like no one has ever seen.

Female fighters climb from the niche market to main stream success was quicker than any women’s sport in history. This was by no mean an overnight success. Although Ronda Rousey has contributed to getting the female fighters into the UFC, we must remember that there has been so many who kept the sport going through the early years, and putting the sport in the much deserved spotlight.

Editor Cynthia Vance chronicles all those who contributed to the rise of the sport in this epic video. Check it out.

Maia

Smith

If you are a 125er, you are about to get some talented company.

Bantamweight star Leslie Smith has decided to drop to flyweight according to an article on MMAFighting.com. Smith, who inked a multi-fight deal with the InvictaFC, will now face Jennifer Maia at the promotion’s 6th card on July 13.

Smith (5-3) lost a a very close split decision to #2 Unified ranked bantamweight Sarah Kaufman at InvictaFC 5 in April. Smith is hoping to be signed to the UFC outright, but the new contract and weight class shows she is willing to wait it out.

The currently #5 ranked Maia (7-2-1) is coming off a decision win over Zoila Gurgel. Her only losses were to InvictaFC’s Vanessa Porto and the UFC’s Sheila Gaff.

InvictaFC 6 will be live from the AmeriStar Casino in Kansas City, MO July 13. It will most likely stream on UStream.tv for $10.

Paes with Silva

It may not have been a flawless victory, but it has been an eight year gap.

Erica Paes, the only woman to defeat Cyborg Justino in her career, won this past weekend in her return to the MMA. Paes worked with UFC champion Anderson Silva last year to hopefully come back successfully, which she did. Working off her back, she was able to secure a first round triangle choke over Gisele Maciel in Brazil.

You can watch the match below

MMA isn’t easy, but it is something anyone with enough heart can do.

That is what Australian combat coach Richie Cranny is wanting to prove with his new reality series “Wimp 2 Warrior” which debuted last week on Youtube. The show takes everyday people and trains them for 6 months to become MMA fighters, which will culminate in each person fighting at a MMA event. All body types were considered for the show. Out of hundreds of applications, 52 will be tested to make the show’s permanent cast, weeding it down to 20 women and men.

There is a female coach on the training end. Rachel Guy, a British strength and conditioning coach, will be pressing the candidates as hard as possible.

The series will run through the summer, with a season 2 already being cast. More info can be found on their Facebook page.

You can watch the second episode below. 

Arizona’s Shasta McMurry and Vegas’s Amanda Raineville will be duking it out for the first ever Universal Fight Organization strawweight title May 10th at the Silver Nugget Casino in Vegas. It will be the main event.

McMurry lost in her MMA debut via decision to Adriana Nasca in a 110 pound catchweight match, but came back with a 36 second rear naked choke in November. She is a part of an up and coming female MMA team out of Fight Ready in Mesa, AZ.

Raineville will be making her amateur debut.

No word on if the event will be streamed.

Chun

Miscellaneous News

You can watch this week’s episode on “Women’s Fight Night” on JanetTV here. We discuss the May Unified MMA rankings, we interview InvictaFC fighter Tecia Torres, and show a trailer for the upcoming “Princesses of Pain” documentary.

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Olympic bronze medlaist wrestler Clarissa Chun will be guest staring on “Hawaii 5-0″ this Monday on CBS.

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Erica Paes is not only talented as a fighter, but was working on her music career for the past few years. We came across her music video – Watch it here.

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Kim Winslow posted on her Facebook she will be the ref for the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter” featuring coaches Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano.

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Amateur fighter Shasta McMurry will be our guest on the Wombat Sports podcast Sunday at 1 p.m. pacific/4 p.m. eastern.

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Rumors

Bloody Elbow has a rumored list of those selected to be on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter”. You can read it here.

In an interview with MiddleEasy.com, UFC champ Ronda Rousey stated she will not be picking certain fighters if they are cast on “The Ultimate Fighter” because she knows she will not get a long with them. Right now, Rousey has no clue who is cast, however, and won’t know until the first episode. She also confirmed that the women will be fighting to get into the house, so expect a lot of female fight action in the first episode.

You can watch the interview here.

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Scheduled Fights

Doerner & Vidonic

In pro MMA bout this weekend, Jessica Doerner will take on Patricia Vidonic in a strawweight battle at Magic City Mayhem in Minot, ND.

Dorner (3-1) is coming off a first round stoppage win over Milly Brown this past February. Vidonic is coming off two decision losses to two top 10 fighters in Jessica Aguilar and Felice Herrig.

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A MMA event in Nicaragua woll see two new featherweights debut as pros as Jessenia Mayorga will take on Fredly Gabriela Ramirez . This will stream live Friday night on GFL.tv for $10.

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Tecia Torres and Crystal Parrish will square at in a K-1 kickboxing match at CSC 36 in Richmond, VA. Under K-1 rules, knees are legal.

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In boxing, Christina Hammer will defend her WBF super middleweight title and hopes to earn the vacant WBO with a win over Zita Zatyko in Germany. Both Hammer and Zatyko are undefeated – Hammer with 13 wins and Zatyko with 15.

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The WBC light welterweight title will be on the line as champ Monica Silvina Acosta will take on Darys Esther Pardo in Chubut, Argentina. Acosta has yet to taste defeat and is coming off a TKO win over Dayana Cordero. Pardo is 25-12 and is coming off a TKO loss in her last fight.

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In ammy MMA:

• Two female fights are set for CFFC in Richmond, VA, which will be  on GoFightLive.tv for $15 Saturday. Mary Rouse takes on Bobbie Bedard for their 125 title; while Amanda Ayers faces Nora Hamilton.
• Erin McDougall will make her return to the cage as she takes on Anna Leigh Maddox at Battle in Bristow in Okalahoma. 
• Ashlee Mastin takes on Megan Miller at No Mercy in Colorado Springs, CO.

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Boxing

Friday

• In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorgelina Veloso faces Lorena Gomez.
• Helen Joseph takes on. Marianna Gulyas in Accra, Ghana

Saturday

• Vanessa Greco faces Susan Reno in Queens, New York
• In Schwechat, Austria, Eva Voraberger takes on Polina Pencheva, while Doris Koehler faces Galina Gumliiska.

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Ammy kickboxing

• At WFC in Reno, NV, Kari Lichenwalner faces Melissa Lazzarini.

Tecia Torres has a lot on her plate in 2013.

Besides her first ever K-1 rules kickboxing match this coming weekend, she is set to face Rose Namajunas in a battle of the undefeated at InvictaFC 6 this July.

We will talk to Torres about both fights, her prosporous year in 2012, and working her way up the strawweight ladder.

Listen to the Podcast here

Vidonic

In the only pro MMA fight this weekend, Patricia Vidonic got a first round armbar submission win over Jessica Doerner at Magic City Mayhem in Minot, ND.

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In amateur action, Maegan Goodwin defeated late replacement Erin McDougall by guillotine submission in round 3 in Bristow, OK.

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Also in ammy action, Ashlee Mastin def. Megan Miller by unanimous decision at No Mercy MMA Colorado Springs, CO.

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Lichtenwalner

InvictaFC fighter Tecia Torres got the first round TKO victory over Crystal Parrish at CSC 36 in Richmond, VA in a K-1 Rules kickboxing bout. Torres’s next MMA fight will be at InvictaFC 6 July 13th in Kansas City, MO against Rose Namajunas.

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In an ammy Muay Thai kickboxing action, Kari Lichtenwalner defeated Victoria Engberson by unanimous decision at WFC in Reno.

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Hammer Courtesy WBF

In boxing, WBF super middleweight champion Christina Hammer got win #14 and picked up the WBO title with her unananimous decision win over Zita Zatyko in Mannheim, Germany.

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Monica Silvina Acosta retained her WBC light welterweight title with her TKO win over Darys Esther Pardo before the start of round 4 in Chubut, Argentina. Pardo’s corner threw in the towel. This marks her 18th win and is still undefeated.

TYC Sports has posted the video of the last round here.
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In Schwechat, Austria, Eva Voraberger won the vacant WIBF flyweight title defeating Polina Pencheva by unanimous decision. On the undercard, Doris Koehler defeated Galina Gumliiska by unanimous decision.

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In other boxing action:

• Buenos Aires, Argentina – Jorgelina Veloso def. Belen Silva by technical decision round 3
• Accra, Ghana - Helen Joseph def. Marianna Gulyas by KO round 1
• Durango, Mexico - Ivoon Rosas def. Nora Cardoza by split decision and Margarita Sanauda def. Katty Mercado by unanimous decision
• Puy-de-Dôme, France - Farida El Hadrati def. Claudia Szymczak by TKO round 3
• Martínez, Buenos Aires, Argentina - Maria Magdalena Rivera def. Veronica Analia Tesure by majority decision

Winter

Martinez

Tuff-n-uff amateur MMA in Vegas is readying itself for their annual Memorial Day weekend card with a female title bout.

Undefeated Jules Winter will be making her Tuff-n-uff debut  against Jessica Martinez for the promotion’s 135 title.

Utah’s Winter (4-0) has been a staple of SteelFist Fights, having won their bantamweight this past March in. She finished all  but one of her fights.

Matrinez (2-4-1) is hoping to get her career back on track as she is coming off a loss to Colbey Northcutt at U of MMA this past October.

No word on if the event will be streamed.

Warren

Casey

XFC announced Monday a female flyweight bout for their upcoming card in Tampa, FL June 14. Tuff-n-uff 125 champ Cortney Casey will make her pro debut, taking on Kelly Warren.

Casey (6-2 amateur) is coming off a flying armbar submission win over Rachel Cummins at Tuff-n-uff this past November. The Arizona native was on a five fight win streak before signing to the XFC earlier this year.

Warren (3-4) is looking to snap a four fight losing streak, having lost to Tara LaRosa and Reyna Cordoba in her last two fights via armbars.

The match will air as part of the main card on AXS TV June 14th.

Oregon’s FCFF will put their ammy flyweight champ against their ammy strawweight champ as Katie Howard will take on Emily Corso at Rumble at the Roseland 71 May 18. Corso’s 125 belt will be on the line.

Strawweight champ Howard (3-2) is coming off a loss to 125er Robin Woods this past March. Howard won the 115 belt this past January with a decision win over Kyra Batara.

Corso (6-0) is coming off a rear naked choke submission win over Amy Cadwell this past October.

In another title match, Hillary VanOrnum will take on Myndi Stalnaker for the vacant light heavyweight title.

Leanne Foster will take on Whitney McMillin in a third female bout.

Courtesy Aaron Tru

The future of the women’s MMA divisions aren’t resting on their laurels.

This past weekend in Pasedena, CA, pre-teen fighters Courtnet Drew Cordoza and Cheyanne Bowman faced off in a pankration match at Proving Ground MMA. In a spirited battle, the used their striking and grappling in what was the fight of the night. They were the only girls a part of the event, which saw pre-teen boys also compete.

Bowman would win the match via points, but this is only the beginning of these girl’s fighting careers.

Aaron Tru was there to cover the event and you can see highlights of their match below.

Damm

Eye

The #2 ranked flyweight Jessica Eye will return to the cage June 1 as she will take on veteran fighter Carina Damm at NAAFS Fight Night at the Flats in Cleveland, OH.

Eye (9-1) got the first round technical submission over Bellator strawweight tournament champ Zolia Gurgel in December. Eye was supposed to face Munah Holland in March, but a back injury sidelined her. She is on a six fight win streak.

Damm (17-8) has been in the sport for over eight years, and is looking to climb back into the top ten. She is coming off back to back losses to Munah Holland (KO) and Tonya Evinger (split decision) respectfully.

No word on if the event will be streamed.

Miscellaneous News

The Ronda Rousey main stream media train went full bore in the past few weeks. Besides making the cover of “ESPN the Magazine’s” 15th anniversary issue, she was also named one of “The 50 Women Who are Changing the World” according Business Insider. Not to mention she was #29 on the Maxim’s Hot 100. She did another nude photo for the article you can see here.

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This week’s Women’s Fight Night on JanetTV has been posted here. It includes an interview with boxer Ana Julaton, who talks about educating network execs on the women’s divisions and the bright future of the sport. Worth a listen.

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May 24 is vastly approaching for Gina Carano’s second outing on a major film – this time co-starring with The Rock and Vin Diesel in “Fast and the Furious 6.” To get you in the mood, here is a look at a fight scene from the film. Carano using her MMA training in a real world situations has now become her trademark.

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Our friends at JanetTV is looking for the best female athlete ever. You can submit your votes here.

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This week on the podcast we will have amateur fighter Hilary Van Ornum who will talk about her upcoming fight at Rumble at the Roseland, plus her extensive grappling career. You can listen live here starting at 3:30 pacific/6:30 eastern.

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Vera

Rumors

We are hearing Kerry Vera is back in training and is a “Muay Thai machine” according to a source. Vera hasn’t seen MMA action in four years, but has notable wins over Kim Couture and InvictaFC’s Leslie Smith.

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According to the MiddleEasy rumor mill, Bjorn Rebney maybe on the outs with Bellator. SpikeTV/Viacom has started making the decisions of the promotion and Randy Couture will soon be the new “face”.

Why we mention it is that we have no clue in which direction the network will take Bellator’s women’s division. With the current hype around UFC’s division, we can only hope they follow suit and grab an opportunity to sign more fighters and promote their current signees.

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Another name of a possible “Ultimate Fighter” cast member has surfaced as Hawaii based Samoan Lia Mata’afa is now rumored to be on the show according to an article on MiddleEasy.com. Her wrestling accolades and her 4-1 amateur record may see her as a dark horse. You can read more about her here.

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Scheduled Matches

A lot of pro action across the planet as we start in India Friday morning. Daizy Singh will take on Ola Ahmed at Super Fight League, which will stream on their youtube channel. The card starts at 8:30 a.m. pacific/11:30 a.m. and will be the 5th match on the card.

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Also Friday Lana Kate faces Amy Adam at AFC 5 in Melbourne, Australia.

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Saturday sees another pro female fight in Australia, as Shauna Carew faces Nusreen Isphany at Eternal MMA at the Gold Coast.

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Amy Cadwell will be making her pro debut against Cheryl Chan at Cage Warriors Combat 4 in Kingston, WA.

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In a pair of pro bouts in Brazil, Kalindra Faria faces Day-see Nas-ci-mento at Detonic Fights 2 in Gerais, while InvictaFC vet Claudia Gad-el-ha takes on Herica Ti-bur-cio at Max Sport MMA in Sao Paulo.

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Two semi-pro bouts are going on in Colchester, England at BC MMA, as Kerry Hughes faces Grace Anderson for the promotion’s bantamweight title, and Liana Tunmer Bogdanov takes on Kerry Maserati.

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In amateur MMA action

Friday

• Shannon Culpepper faces Vallie Rae Mead at Rocky Mountain Bad Boyz in Denver, CO
• Jennifer Stumborg takes on Jessica Holland at Fivestar Fight League in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada.

Saturday

• Nicola Fairclough takes on Alexa Conners at Conflict MMA in Savannah, GA. This will air on GFL.tv for $10.
• In two fights at Kickdown MMA in Denver, CO,

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McGee & Holm

In boxing, Holly Holm will defend her IBA/WBF light welterweight title against Mary McGee in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Holm (32-2-3) has won her last two fights, including avenging a loss to Anne Sophie Mathis. McGee (20-1) has won her last three and has yet to hit the canvus. This will be Holm’s last boxing match as she will be presuing her MMA career.

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Soto & Knight

In Toluca, México, IBF flyweight champ Ava Knight takes on Linda Soto. Knight (11-1) has not been defeated in her last 7 bouts. Soto is coming off a decision loss this past January.

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In a battle for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental super bantamweight title, Marcela Eliana Acuna will take on Edith Soledad Matthysse. Acuna (37-6-1) is coming off a split draw to Yesica Patricia Marcos. Matthysse recently defeat Antonina Ayala Vazquez by unaimous decision.

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In other boxing action

Friday

• In Detroit, Michigan, Mara Marquez faces Tiana Barber

Saturday

• Yoon-Joo Shin faces Napaporn Superchamps for the vacant WIBA super flyweight title in Hongsung, South Korea
• Two fights in Baden-Württemberg, Germany as Jemyma Betrian takes on Anika Kurzer and Caroline Schroeder faces Franziska Faller
• Francia Elena Bravo faces Yolis Marrugo Franco in Cerete, Colombia

Remember to follow @WombatSports on twitter for the latest fight updates.

A recent article by NPR’s Frank Deford has gotten a lot of response from the female athletic community. The article talks about why female team sports leagues are failing and what needs to be done in order to save them. He talks about how female fans need to fill the seats, and to that point, he is right – sort of.

Any increase in fans will help any sport (male or female) gain support. When you however type cast that “women need to be the biggest fans of female sports” is a narrow view of what really needs to be done. If a man and a woman can both enjoy a sport, then it benefits immensely.

The biggest example is MMA’s InvictaFC. It’s an all-female fight organization and has become one of the most successful female sports leagues on the planet. It’s not because they only cater to women, but they cater to fight fans. The audience has more of an even female/male ratio than what you would see in a WNBA or Women’s soccer game.

My response to Mr. DeFord is that it’s about the way certain female sports are marketed. DeFord mentions that there are certain stars that carry some of the weight in team sports and individual sports such as figure skating and tennis. The same could be said about the rise of Ronda Rousey in MMA. However, a sport can’t bank on only one or two stars.

The leagues themselves need to take a hint from InvictaFC in terms how stars are marketed and how their players are represented. They need to market their players to be athletes first and foremost, versus a women who happens to be an athlete. I was skeptical when InvictaFC was announced last year, as I thought that the media would liken it as a “lesser product” like it does the WNBA. (Not that I felt that these athletes weren’t great – because I knew they were.) Unlike the WNBA and Women’s Pro Soccer, who have taken cues from their male counter parts as an extension of the sport, InvictaFC president Shannon Knapp made the promotion its own entity, not trying to be an off shoot of the UFC. The women aren’t a “special, rare treat” in MMA anymore. They are skilled and talented in their own right, and need no comparison to their male counterparts. This is a radical concept and it works.

Simply put, heads of female sports league need to stop marketing it as a “female extention” of the sport and simply say it’s “a new sports league with exciting athletes.”

Courtesy Ester Lin

These athletes also need to do their part in front of the camera and behind the scenes to inform the media, sponsors, and those in power at the TV networks about their sport. Pro boxer Ana Julaton has been doing so. In a recent interview I conducted with her on JanetTV.com, she stated that major networks are interested in women’s boxing, but they need to be educated in terms on who’s who and the potential star power. The biggest thing an athlete can do for their sport is put their name out there, even if it’s for their local paper or news station. The worst you can hear is no. If so, find another outlet and try them again later.

Most important thing female athletes need to remember is that they are all in this together. MMA is a prime example of this as women, as much as they are competitors inside the cage, are united in making the sport successful. From helping other fighters train to helping and encouraging the next generation of fighters, they are ensuring the sport is strong for now and the future.

In terms of how they are marketed, it’s can’t be all about sex. However, to deny the use of it in women’s sport would be foolish. There needs to be a delicate balance between being perceived as an athlete and a sex symbol. Rousey is doing a great job of balancing both, being able to indulge the male audience while not alienating the female fans. Plus she is a world class athlete, so her talent could easily stand on its own. Female athletes need to be reminded that skill has to be number one on the list and you can’t coast on looks. See tennis player Anna Kournikova and Olympian Leryn Franco.

With women’s participation in sports increasing, there will be inherent growth in support the women’s sport all around. To gain main stream acceptance, female sports leagues and athletes need to change their mindsets.

Lima

Holland

Bellator vet Munah Holland will be making her way back to her old stomping grounds of Ring of Combat to take on Brazilian Camila Lima at the promotion’s June 14th in Atlantic City, NJ. ROC announced the match Friday.

The currently #6 Unified ranked flyweight Holland (5-2) was on a solid four fight win streak and two straight KO victories before losing to Michelle Ould at Bellator this September. She was set to face Jessica Eye this spring, but Eye backed out due to a back injury.

Brazil’s Lima (6-3) has come back after suffering three straight losses in her first three pro fights to go on a 6-0 tear. In her last outing, she got a unanimous decision victory over Aline Sattelmayer this past April. This will be Lima’s U.S. debut.

The match will stream on GoFightLive.tv for $15.