Ronda Rousey deserves to headline UFC 157
So Dan Henderson’s coach Gustavo Pugliese isn’t happy with the fact that the UFC’s first women’s champion, Ronda Rousey, will headline UFC 157 instead of his fighter’s light heavyweight tilt against Lyoto Machida. Let’s be clear though, Henderson isn’t the one bothered by being bumped. It’s Pugliese’s issue that he opted to expand upon via a recent post on his Facebook by suggesting that Rousey hasn’t paid her dues as of yet to deserve that spot.
“Ronda is headlining UFC 157. Here is why I have a problem with that. Ronda is the champion of Strikeforce with 6 wins in less than 2 years of a MMA professional career. That’s impressive regardless of who she has fought. However, she is not the UFC champion yet. She still has to win this fight to get that belt. On the other hand , we have Hendo, who has also been the Strikeforce champion (never lost the belt), Pride champion in 2 different weight classes; he has been ranked #1 contender for the UFC 205lbs, and #6 by many pound for pound best fighter. His resume is second to none, moreover, he is fighting a former champion, Lyoto Machida. Now why aren’t they main event? Is Ronda a better market value? I don’t know, but her fight could be quick as usual and we could be missing another historic 5 rds fight between 2 legends and possible hall of famers. I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve to headline an UFC event, but certainly not this one.”
No disrespect to Gustavo but cry us a river, build a bridge and get over it. While his points about Henderson’s status are valid, what he fails to realize is that the UFC is a business and Rousey is a potential goldmine that the company must go balls out for. It’s not just because Rousey is easy on the eyes with a personality that makes Chael Sonnen blush. It’s because she’s a badass that has decimated her opponents one arm at a time. Women’s MMA is no longer just a fringe sport that struggles to play on equal playing field with their male counterparts. Because of Rousey, women’s MMA is being thrust into the mainstream as the arm bar specialist is the one carrying the flag into the new frontier.
Yes, it’s a risk putting Rousey in the main event for what could be a potential squash match against Liz Carmouche. But it’s a risk that the UFC absolutely has to take. Considering that women’s MMA wasn’t even on Dana White‘s radar a little over a year ago, the fact that he tripped over a spurting oil well that brought a lot of attention to Strikeforce has forced White to switch stances on the female fighting scene.
As Rousey constantly snatched arms, mainstream sports outlets began paying attention. ESPN and Sports Illustrated have thrust her into the mainstream thanks to her indisputable crossover appeal. And with MMA still struggling to find those fighters that extend beyond the die hard MMA fans’ radar, Rousey is the golden goose that could help bring more attention to the sport…and a bigger female demographic. Did I mention the girl can fight her ass off? I know, six fights isn’t enough to say that Rousey is the best women’s fighter ever. You can’t forget Gina Carano and how quickly her fire fizzled once she was smashed by Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and the subsequent suspension of Santos shortly after. Women’s MMA had potential to breakthrough then but was squelched. But Rousey is a different animal. One that doesn’t let her foes out of the first round and doesn’t really have an opponent that threatens her standing outside of the return of Cyborg in what could be a massive fight.
There’s no doubt that putting Rousey in the main event will have the media looking to build out stories around her that will bring attention to both women’s MMA and the UFC. Henderson vs. Machida? Not so much. It’s not to say that that isn’t a great bout that could headline a PPV event, it’s to say that there’s nothing all that special about it economically. While Gustavo argues that Hendo and Machida could have a historic five round war, he fails to consider that the fight could also be a stinker or a quick knockout. You just can’t predict these things with MMA and to try and use a quick finish against Rousey is a miscue on Gustavo’s part. People like to see finishes so if Rousey goes in there on February 23 and snatches another arm in under a minute, it won’t damage her standing or the sport. By then, the UFC will already have a new set of eyeballs taking a look at the sport that doesn’t get regular coverage on mainstream sports outlets. It’s exactly what they need and something that Henderson vs. Machida can’t deliver.
You have to strike while the iron is hot and Rousey’s iron is scorching right now.
