Iole: Rousey dominance not good for the sport
“The problem is that the champion is so far ahead of the rest of the field that it makes those non-title bouts seem small and insignificant,” argues Kevin Iole.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole argues that like Tiger Woods around 2000, Ronda Rousey is so far ahead of the other leading athletes that it is silly to think she might lose. Further, Iole says that is not good for the UFC women’s division.
Her dominance is great in one sense, because fans gravitate toward winners. But it’s cast a pall over non-title women’s matches.
On a loaded UFC card that will be televised nationally Saturday by Fox from Orlando, Fla., Tate will meet Liz Carmouche in a bout that, in other circumstances, might have stirred up a lot of passion and interest. But Rousey has manhandled both, and that has taken a bit of the significance out of Saturday’s match.
Before he saw Rousey fight, president Dana White had famously said he’d never allow women into the UFC. In large part, that was because he didn’t feel there was enough depth of quality fighters.
It’s turned out that White was dead wrong. There is a lot of quality depth, and there are some compelling women’s fights that could be made. The problem is that the champion is so far ahead of the rest of the field that it makes those non-title bouts seem small and insignificant.
It’s up to the women who are under UFC contracts now to close the gap on Rousey. It happened on the PGA Tour when several men at least got into the ballpark with Woods.
If one of the women – be it Tate, Carmouche, Sara McMann, Cat Zingano or Alexis Davis – can prove to be a legitimate threat to Rousey, it will help to grow interest in the division.
But if not, the women’s division will amount to Rousey appearances and not much else.
