Dana White had said there would never be women in the Octagon. Then enter Ronda Rousey. Then the 115 lb division happened. Now he and other men in charge are saying a 125 lb division would deplete 135 and 115. (meaning they are admitting half of those people in those divisions really belong in 125 . yep! But guys, changing weight divisions isn’t like buying a donut or not. It’s years of putting on or losing muscle, having such low body fats our periods stop or our kidneys and livers panic….) Then Mr. White said that the 125 lb div would probably be next. Then they go ahead and make the 145 lb division for Cyborg. What?
Hey, I get it. It’s a business. I’m a HUGE Dana White fan. I don’t believe “he lies,” as someone people are saying. I think plans just change. He’s a great businessman.
However, the excuse about depletion is….well, not true, I think.
If Dana White or Sean Shelby read this, no offense, I love you, you’re my heroes. 🙂 I do get it. I know it’s only a matter of time!
They found Alexandra Albu who was 5-0 in Poland. She’s hot as hell….I found out about her cuz the guys on the Underground Forum wouldn’t stop posting booty pics of her.
Looking at the UFC website now for lists of female fighters…..
Ericka Almeida I’ve never heard of but she’s 7-2 out of Brazil and seems like a bad-ass.
Izabela Badurek I’ve never heard of. 5-3 after her loss to Badurek.
Anna Elmose is someone I have no idea who she is. Looking at her record, she’s 3-2 which means she was signed at 3-0. She lost to Amanda Bobby Cooper, and before that, to Germaine de Randamine…hang on a second, Germaine fights at 135. So she went down two weight divisions. wtf?
So the point is, there are women people haven’t even heard of, plus more well known fighters that you probably could name off the top of your head. How can the excuse still be used that “there are not enough fighters in XYZ division?”
I’ve been fighting for 13 years. People like to ask me in interviews if I want to fight for the UFC. Guys, I’m signed to Invicta. When you are at your company’s press conference, you don’t say to the board of directors, ‘Yeah I’d rather be at the company next door, but thanks for the paycheck!’
Of COURSE I want to see the 125lb division come into existence in the UFC.
Sometimes people ask me how I feel about Valerie Letourneau being in the UFC despite me having beaten her in the Ultimate Fighter season 18. I say, good for her. I got to have the public exposure and experience on the show that she didn’t have, so I’m glad she can also have a good career. I did win, though….
It’s too bad a lot of her publicity nowadays is the fact she almost died TWICE to make 115. Good for MMA that that stuff is being brought to light, bad for her. Dude, I met her at a Tuff-N-Uff amateur show in Vegas and we talked. She said that she would refuse to fight at 115 again and wait until they made 125 lbs before she fought. I was kind of excited to hear that. Someone was taking a stand, I thought!!
Then I heard the announcement her fight was set (that she just did) at 115 and I thought, “welp, have fun with that, girl….” And then she missed weight. She doesn’t have Cyborg or Ronda star-power in order to influence the UFC bosses to create a division just for her.
I know decisions are made around money. It’s a business. We are athletes but that is secondary. We have to fit into their schemes and plans. I’m not the one looking at the ratings, the profits, the expenditures. I don’t know all the contract details. Neither do guys, right? So I have my opinions, you have your opinions, but we don’t have all the information.
I’ve got people on my Facebook saying very STRONGLY “Oh obviously there aren’t enough women at 125 so 145 is obviously the best choice.” I wanna be like “Well, everyone is entitled to their opinions EVEN IF THEY ARE WRONG.” I can only name under ten 145 lb fighters off the top of my head, but tons more 125-ers.
I am a little disappointed about the creation of 145 lb division before 125, but I know it’s all a matter of time. I’m sure there is a financial backing for that decision. And hey, I’m not a huge, scary, Brazilian woman who’s one-of-a-kind in the world who has decimated most of her opponents in under a round, so I can’t demand a division be made just for me, right? Nor am I a hot babe like Gina Carano who only has to smile or wink and 1,000 men make gifs of said action. lol
Life isn’t fair and MMA life is a little less fair than normal life.
I totally get it.
I just want to fight. It sucks we fighters can’t control when we fight. We literally have to beg promoters and match makers to put us on the card. But as I said, life isn’t fair.
So, as for me, my Christmas plans are messed up now, but I’m trying to be optimistic about the holidays and about next year. My mom is a fan of the phrase “It was meant to be” or “Everything always works out.” I hate those phrases. They are very passive. I hate being passive in life. I believe in taking action to make things happen. As long as you don’t DIE, you continue with your life and do the best you can and try and find positive things, so therefore “everything works out” means that “other stuff happens that might also be good.”
I’m going to Boston to visit my dad. I’ll miss seeing the rest of the family, but wait, I gotta focus on the positive. My dad. I hardly get to see him throughout the year. I guess that’s it….
I haven’t lifted weights since I pulled my bicep muscle and shoulder, but I’ve still been driving myself through double-duty classes of gi jiujitsu and MMA. It’s better now but climbing ropes still gives me bicep cramps and I am bummed out because I wanted to work hard at that because Captain said so. ~_~; I’m improving my striking with every private lesson John gives me, and learning stuff in jiujitsu every day. I’m aiming for a jiujitsu tournament early next year. I’m really enjoying doing so much jiujitsu since it’s my favorite part of martial arts.
I am keeping my weight down and my cardio up because I still don’t know when I’m fighting.
I had sushi with Jamie yesterday. It was a nice celebration for her UFC win, and nice to chat and catch up! Thanks, Jamie.
Serena is gone for three weeks visiting her family. I miss her. :<
[edit] I just realized I ended this entry on a negative note. That is unacceptable for The Happy Warrior. Let's see...I have a private lesson of striking with John, then a massage with Teri, who is magical, and the my kids classes! aaaah my kids!!
It’ll be a good day.