Running Header: Women In Mixed Martial Arts

Women In Mixed Martial Arts

Mario Martinez
The University Of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1302
Professor Tafari Nugent
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Introduction

Most people know or typically associate MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) with the

big brand UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), when in reality, there is so much more to

the background than just duking it out with someone else inside of the octagon. The

concept of MMA has been around dating all the way back to the times of

the Egyptians. The Great Pyramids have engraved hieroglyphic inscriptions of Egyptians

fighting and practicing martial arts that date back to 3,000 B.C. This is a line from a

website that is followed by picture proof of the hieroglyphics. Now as that may not come to a

shock for some people, this fact may. Women were not introduced to the sport until the late

1990s when the very first female competition was held in the United States on March 28,

1997. It would be almost 15 years later when women finally started to get recognition after the

UFC held their first womens bout. The internet is mainly where the information will be

provided for this topic, more specifically, Womens mixed martial arts Wikipedia page as well

as the very well known television show Spike TV.

Genre Origins

The 2 types of genres chosen to represent my topic have been the internet and the

television. Both of these genres represent and talk about my topic in typically positive and

influential ways. Spike TV is a channel that airs mostly shows predominantly see by men, which

made it a primary source to air the UFC, given that the content of MMA appeals mainly to men.
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Since the UFC is the biggest mainstream source for MMA it obviously had the most viewers,

meaning that it has the biggest influence on the general public. (The general public being fight

fans as well ass martial arts enthusiasts) In November of 2012 Dana White, the president of

UFC, decided to sign their very first female fighter ever, one you may know by the name Ronda

Rousey. This seemingly outrageous move sent fight fans spiraling with questions, opinions and

sparking interesting arguments around the world. To everyone in the world who was a fight fan

this was a risky move for a number of reasons, the most popular being the question, Do women

belong fighting in the UFC?. Although to women, this was liberating and encouraging. This

action simultaneously sparked a huge increase in women feeling not only empowered, but

feeling as if they were getting the opportunity to prove themselves capable of belonging in more

settings in the modern day world. Ronda Rousey went on to become arguably one of the greatest

fighters in UFC history, ultimately influencing thousands of females around the globe to step out

of their comfort zone and achieve greatness.

The most influential way that the Internet has impacted the women in MMA

movement has been by keeping the fight community in a constant buzz with opinions ands

thoughts. The very first time coming across this situation was on YouTube, as most people do.

There were countless videos on the women training as well as different points of view on the

topic. It struck instant interest on the topic and made me research.

Language

The typical language and vocabulary used in the MMA scene is one that can be

very unusually unorthodox to the normal person. The typical lingo is that of loosely put together

terms of moves or traditional saying that have slowly evolved into a way to understand each
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other. For example, a very popular saying or phrase commonly heard in dojos is Oss!. As

said best by the Jiu-Jitsu Times website, The use of OSU! or OSS! in Brazilian jiu-jitsu

(BJJ) and other forms of martial art stems from traditionalJapanese Okinawan karate. When

looking at the meaning of OSS or OSU, its important to understand that the term has

several uses ranging from a greeting to answering a question and acknowledging an opponents

skill among other things. In fact, the term is quite versatile. Another word commonly known in

the MMA world, more so towards the grappling component of it, is called a shot. If you were

we to sit in on any wrestling match or just grappling match in general, it is guaranteed that you

will hear the word, shoot, or take a shot. What this means is that is for one person to

drop levels and typically rush the opponent, grabbing their legs and taking them down. This is a

very effective move and has always been since the days wrestling has been invented.

Ethos Pathos and Logos

Starting off with Pathos, the main component from the Ethos Pathos Logos is

definitely the Pathos. Being that Pathos is the direct appeal to peoples emotions, it makes most

sense to market the MMA business along the emotional path. A well known quote, with an

unknown original writer says, If there were two different stages where two different bands

were having their concerts, and a big fight breaks out on the other side of the room, you will

notice that everyone will rush over to the fight. . There is something that seems to be pre-wired

in humans brains that makes seeing people fight each other, trying to inflict pain on one another,

intriguing to watch. A very famous UFC fighter by the name of George St. Pierre, was once

interviewed and asked about the natural instinct of people to gravitate towards violence. My

mother, who is a saint and wouldnt hurt a fly, when put in the situation to protect her family,
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will fight. At first, just viewing this quote anyone may seem to be obvious, thinking

who wouldnt fight in a situation like that., but what you fail to take into consideration is the

true meaning of this quote. It explains how everyone with a conscious has a wired instinct to

fight, whether it be out of anger or for protection, all people can naturally fall back on some sort

of a fighting instinct no matter how good or how bad.

Ethos

Ethos is one category that may not be used to appeal to the mainstream public due to it

being about ethics. Ethos is essentially the ethics or credibility behind someone. The most

credible people to talk profoundly about the sport may be the MMA fighters themselves. Being

that MMA fighters have typically done nothing but trained most of their lives, meaning that a lot

of them dont have a super high level of education although some do, most do not. Aside from

that there are plenty of doctors or physicians that do not agree with the sport 100% which is why

ethos is not a huge point of interest for MMA.

Logos

Logically, not many people think it is smart to be in a sport where the object is to injure

each other. On the other side, the sport is not meant to appeal to the logical thinkers, it is meant

for the people that think with their emotions, although the sport is beginning to become more

accepted, there are still plenty of people who dislike it. Adding to that, many people view the

sport as much more than a fight. It is like a human chess game, only with physical negative

consequences which makes it so much more thought provoking.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, women in MMA have without a doubt greatly contributed to the

movement of women equality. Of course women will not ever be expected to compete against

the men, it definitely empowers women to do anything they please and give millions of women

confidence around the world. Also, the women in the UFC has widened their key demographic to

not just mainly men, but now go after the women attention equally as much. Economically it has

expanded the UFC and other smaller organizations and brought in a lot of money with up and

coming MMA women fighter that are world class.

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References

History of MMA Mixed Martial Arts. OC Kickboxing And Mixed Martial Arts MMA Orange County Irvine,

Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts, 13 May 2009, ockickboxing.com/blog/mma/history-of-mma-mixed-

martial-arts/.

Women's Mixed Martial Arts. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2017,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_mixed_martial_arts.

Spike TV