Other Sports need to take notes from the UFC on how to Promote their Women Athletes

I love the UFC. I watch almost every fight and I watch many of its programs on UFC Fightpass. But I haven't always been a fan of the UFC or even MMA for that matter. And maybe, that has something to do with the way the UFC promotes itself.

Before paddling, surfing was my passion. I live in #BocasdelToro, #Panama because of the surf. If I wasn't out surfing, I would watch the pro women's surf circuit. But a few years ago I went to a #BJJ class and fell in love with martial arts. From there I tried Muay Thai and also MMA classes and found a new passion. Something that I absolutely loved doing. And the best was watching the UFC.

At that time I was interested in MMA and started watching it the star of the UFC was Ronda Rousey. Even above most men that were in the UFC the promotion of Ronda Rousey was strong, and it was probably the reason why the UFC had become so popular. For many years the UFC was reluctant to include women, but after they did the sport grew into what it is today, even bringing in three more weight divisions after the first bantanweight was included in 2012.

Another big difference I noticed was the women fights were staged right next to men, rather than having a completely different card separating the two like in surfing. And in many cases, women fights were the main card (the main event). I was stunned. The hair on arms would stand up and my heart would beat faster as I would see Ronda enter the cage ready to fight her next opponent. I never had felt this way about any other sport that I watched, much less women in sports.

Maybe it has something to do also with the way women are shown on UFC. Rather than focus on their sex appeal, like is the case in many sports especially surfing, the UFC focusing on their martial arts, their technique and strength. Their videos were made to inspire. The videos promoting women in the UFC were like nothing I had ever seen. I was hooked.

Not only is the UFC giving their women athletes equal promotion and coverage on their fight nights, but also on shows. The UFC Fightpass offers original UFC shows related to their fighters and martial arts. Some of these reality shows even focus on women fighters that happen to be mothers as well. When have you ever seen this in any other sport?

Women fighters can become millonaires and super stars with the UFC. After Ronda's reign there has been other UFC superstars such as Poland's Joanna Jedrzejczyk who was up until recently the reigning Strawweight queen of the UFC. That night at Madison Square Garden UFC 217 when Rose Namajunas KOd Joanna Jedrzejczyk was perhaps one of the most inspiring wins of the night, where even the biggest UFC superstars fought such as the return of George Georges St-Pierre had fought. Honestly between the two I was standing and cheering. Damn I love this sport!

I still love surfing, but I haven't watched a surf competition in a long time. I just have no interest. I watch the clips from the highlights but I don't watch the entire thing. The videos promoting the competitions just don't inspire me to. I prefer surfing rather than watching it. And even though I am not fighting as much as I used to, my passion for UFC grows after each fight.

The upcoming and last card of the year, UFC 219 will be this December 30th where the main card is a women fight for the Featherweight title between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm. It's a super fight and one that many fans have been waiting for. I can't wait to see if Holly Holm will stun the world like she did before when she knocked out Ronda Rousey.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Let me know in the comments below. #UFC #Sports #Athletes #MMA #steemitbjj