Theodorou explains why he’ll be a ring card boy on Saturday
Elias Theodorou: “I think in the true pursuit of equality the answer is more not less. That’s why I kind of want to do this in terms of just starting a conversation.”
Ring card girls became a thing when the May 1965 issue of Ring Magazine contained an image of a model in a boxing ring at the Hacienda Casino in Las Vegas, holding a ring card over her head.
If something like this caught on around the country, gate receipts automatically would fatten, read the caption.
The UFC eventually adopted the practice, and it’s a staple today at MMA events and among several other sports. However, other sports are now moving away from the practice; Formula One racing in Europe dropped the tradition of ‘Grid Girls’ earlier this year, in response to changing social norms.
MMA can ignore the calls for an end to the practice. Or we can surrender to the cheese-eating surrender monkeys of Europe and drop it entirely. Or we can have males sometimes assume the role, drawing more female fans to the sport.
At the all-women Invicta FC 28 on Saturday, March 24 in Salt Lake City, Utah, UFC middleweight Elias Theodorou will break a barrier. In a recent interview with Damon Martin for MMA Weekly, ‘The Spartan’ explained why.
The opportunity to create that conversation after blogs and so many sites are talking about removing ring girls in general from combat sports and any other type of athletics,” he said. “I think in the true pursuit of equality the answer is more not less.
That’s why I kind of want to do this in terms of just starting a conversation. I truly think it’s an opportunity to have an adult conversation about something like being a ring card holder and hopefully doing a damn good job at it as well.
One of the arguments that I put out there is you can’t be more offended than the person we’re talking about. I think we can’t be more offended than the people who have signed up to do this and that would be the ring girls. It’s a profession, they’re professional at it and they need to make a living, too. It always comes back to the answer is more not less.
I plan on having calendars come out. I plan on having plus-sized models as well so there’s another form of equality. I can think out of the box. I’ll have other ring card boys. I could see someone like Roy Nelson as Mr. July.
I think I started something along with Shannon and Invicta. And it’s really exciting to be a part of the conversation and hopefully leading it.
