The 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter is set to premiere on Tuesday, the 10th of September. Dubbed The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned, this season will feature an all woman cast in the straw-weight (115 pounds) division. As the title implies, the ladies in question will literally be fighting for the title of UFC Straw-weight Champion.
Two years ago, the idea of a woman holding a UFC title was preposterous to most fans. But, to the confusion and derision of most, the formerly all male sport was ready to take it’s next evolutionary step. Enter “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. Olympic judo medalist and women’s Strikeforce champ, Rousey embodies all of the best and worst attributes of a champion: Unparalleled skill, unheard of work ethic, gargantuan ego. But there is one thing that sets Rousey apart from every other UFC Champion in any other weight class.
Her looks.
The UFC has done a bang up job of marketing Ronda as a world-class fighter, and she is. But they’ve also done an equally bang up job of portraying her as a sex symbol. I defy you to find more than two shots of her in a single promotional spot where she isn’t displaying that downright a-god-damned-dorable dimply smile.
With all the strides that Dana White and the UFC tried to make by showcasing Rousey’s talent up front and her looks second. By doing a standout job of introducing women’s MMA on a world wide stage as a legitimate and exciting branch of the sport. After all that calculated exposure, the promotional image of the first all-female TUF cast? …see above.
To me, a long time fan and witness of the evolution of the UFC, from a ‘No Rules, No Weight Classes’, pit-fighting, shaved ape s***-show, to a global platform that showcases combat sports at the highest level? This is just gross.