Personally, I'm certainly not against female MMA. I enjoy watching it, though not to the same level of male MMA.
I'm talking about the choice to show a female fight on the first network TV show. They, as in CBS/EliteXC, are not hoping for the hardcore MMA fans to tune in. Their viewing is a given. They are looking for the casual viewer to tune in to get the ratings. If only the hardcore MMA fan tunes in, ratings will be abysmal and its future will be shaky. Thats why a female fight on the first card is risky. If it turns into a bloodfest or gory female fight, that will turn off an awful lot of new viewers. Let the first card be complete without female MMA and get some of these viewers to get an understanding of the sport. Next card, put Gina or Shayna on there and bang away.
You make a great point, and it wasn't necessarily you that my comment was directed at. How about another Windy Tamomi incident? that would be bad for MMA on TV
"I have always said that if you need steroids to compete you are not a fighter. Fighting is all about heart, technique and capitalizing upon your opponents mistakes. It is not about putting something into your body and walking around with big muscles saying look at me. In my book if you are on steroids you are a loser."
I think the EliteXC and CBS partnership will help MMA in general. I hope it turns out to be a good event. I don't mind watching women in MMA. I have only seen a few women fights. As long there is not a freak stoppage like in a Bodog fight were one women broke another womans shin or something, I don't remember exactly but I do remember that it made me cringe.
You make a great point, and it wasn't necessarily you that my comment was directed at. How about another Windy Tamomi incident? that would be bad for MMA on TV
A bloodfest would be brutal, but a Tomomi incident would be equally bad. For those who want to see it...
Holy hell. I can't even imagine the response if something like this happened live on CBS.
Yeah, it would be pretty bad, and the talking heads would obviously make it into a witch hunt, which is exactly what it would be. The reason I say that is because there have been two similar incidents in the recent past in mainstream sports, and while they got some attention, neither the NBA nor the NFL were demonized because of it.
The response to an injury like that would be huge (and terrible) no matter what. But the response would be far worse if it was a female lying there screaming than a male. That's why I'd wait until the 2nd EliteXC card on CBS to place a female bout.
Krav, there's a big difference between women wanting to participate and the general masses wanting to watch.
Envision this. Gina comes into the cage with the crowd going nuts. The fight goes well until about 4 minutes into the first round. The opponent catches her with a wild right that stuns her. The opponent uses Carano's own Muay Thai style against her and lands 3-4 knees from the clinch. Gina goes down and the ref stops the fight. Thats fine. But when the camera zeros in on Gina, her face is mangled with her nose looking similar to Rich Franklin's after Silva destroyed it and a huge gash over her eye. You and I and all the hardcore MMA fans know this is part of the game. But to the casual viewer that CBS is hoping to draw, what will they think? The majority will think how terrible it is and never watch again. Its a risk that they will be taking big time.
Also, CBS has not announced Gina for this broadcast yet. Its just the rumor that EliteXC has leaked. But let's not forget that Gina was officially announced for the EliteXC Street Certified event in February but was later pulled due to her commitment to American Gladiators. She later said she had never given EliteXC the go ahead to announce her as participating since she knew she wouldn't have time to train. With the AG show being renewed, who's to say that she will be actually fighting at this event? Maybe this is why EliteXC has leaked her name, not officially announced it. They want to people talking about her even though they may know she won't be participating in it.
That's a fair point, but a risk you have to take if you want to market to the masses and generate your own fan base like the UFC has.
If it works, you may see women be EliteXC's primary fan base. You just never know. It could work both ways. As they say, IMO, the reward is worth the risk.
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"I may not break your spirit, but I sure as hell can break your back! Last Stop MeatbalL!" - Thunderlips (Rocky III)
Wow... I don't watch MMA for a few years and when I start watching it again I find out that not only is there a new promotion called EliteXC, but that they also own Cage Rage, Strikeforce and others... and are going to have a live event on network TV in the States. Impressive
I have to agree that Gina should not be on the first card- and I'll be there! With Kimbo on the card, it will be hard for audiences to discern between legitimate competition and freak show. Under what banner would a women's fight fall to the untrained viewer? Her role in AG only amplifies this potential confusion. Will they call her by her AG nickname? How would NBC feel about that?
With respect to the injury issue, a nasty broken bone or dislocation is horrible to look at regardless of the sex of the athlete. It is our (society's) inherent sexism that gives us pause at seeing a woman's face bleed. But no matter the cause, we must acknowledge the reality that such an event would be a negative for MMA.
We're alway surprised how many women want to get in there with other women and sometimes other men and just bang.
Great quote!
I remember seeing the Tomomi incident on a replay. I had never heard of the incident so I had no warning.
God, it still gives me shivers just thinking about it.
That and the UMiami football player that had his knee bent backwards in the National Championship game against tOSU.
I can't remember the player's name.....this is going to drive me nuts!
I will never forget those injuries.
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"If you combined The Karate Kid with Fight Club, then threw in a dash of The O.C. and You Got Served then beat it with a stick until it was really stupid, you'd have something twice as smart as Never Back Down. " - Eric D. Snider
I remember seeing the Tomomi incident on a replay. I had never heard of the incident so I had no warning.
God, it still gives me shivers just thinking about it.
That and the UMiami football player that had his knee bent backwards in the National Championship game against tOSU.
I can't remember the player's name.....this is going to drive me nuts!
Quick story. I'm in my second year of training at a Division 3 university covering a varsity football game. Though our team was very good, we're getting blown out by 40 late in the 4th by the eventual national runner up. The other team has all their subs in and their 3rd string RB looks to run the sweep toward me on the sideline. When he's about 10 yards away, he's swarmed over and all you hear is this loud "CRACK", like a helmet to helmet contact. The ball pops out of the pile and goes downfield with everyone jumping after it. All that remains is that running back. He lying flat on his back with his leg up in the air. He's holding his left knee and the toes of his left foot are hitting him in the hands! Complete compound fracture of his tibia and fibula. My head trainer turns slowly towards me and in the calmest voice possible says "better get the ambulance" before jogging out to him. Really taught me how to stay calm under pressure. Thus when I walked my nose tackle off the field this year while holding the nine pieces of his forearm together, it was a piece of cake.
This is exactly what I did to my right knee only my foot was buried in a bit of sand when I was broadsided. Bent nearly 90 degrees sideways. Dislocated knee, annihilated ACL, MCL, and lateral meniscus. I can't watch this video and I cringe even when they are faked in movies.
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