WMMA Discussion #28

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What do you think is the hangup for promotions, be it UFC or whoever else, to not have Atomweight? Seems like a no brainer since more women are within that weight range when physically active compared to 135 or 145.
 
I think the main problem with 105 is it's spread out between too many different organizations, and none of them really have enough fighters to put on quality fights on a regular basis. If one or 2 orgs could scoop up most of the good fighters and start putting on regular matches for the North American audience, I bet the UFC will open up their wallet and get serious about their own 105 division.
 
Yeah it’s a head scratcher. Atomweight consistently puts on entertaining fights and has a lot of strong fighters.

At one point there were some rumors here I believe that the UFC was considering doing a TUF series featuring Atomweight. Then the Covid pandemic hit and there might have been immigration and visa difficulties or something like that I’m not too sure.

It’s kinda funny in some ways I’d like to see the UFC add that division. There’s another part of me that enjoys and almost prefers seeing it in ONE FC, Rizin, Invicta, et. al. The UFC I’m afraid might mess it up via benign neglect and a generally reactionary fan base.
 
TorontoTO said:
What do you think is the hangup for promotions, be it UFC or whoever else, to not have Atomweight? Seems like a no brainer since more women are within that weight range when physically active compared to 135 or 145.
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It's spread too thin between Invicta, Rizin, ONE and other smaller promotions. When they opened 115 they could take what was considered the bulk of the marketable/talented fighters easily and keep them cost controlled for awhile while they build the division through TUF. Just prying away fighters from Combate had them giving one a starting contract of 25k/25k. Can you imagine what it would take for them to get one of the star 105ers from the Asian promotions? Do you think they would be willing to pay that for a division that will take like 2 or 3 years to grow and sort itself out?

Another problem is that there is no sure fire superstar. I guarantee you if there was a Ronda at 105 that division would have been opened years ago. While there might not be a super star of that level I think 105 gives the UFC best chance at an Asian champion with staying power that they have wanted for awhile. Zhang is amazing but 115 is too good for her to stay as the champ for too long. Asian regions have shown they are 100% willing to back any Asian WMMA fighter no matter how small she is so this should be counted as a plus.

I think the last problem I can think of at the top of my head has been how bad some WMMA divisions has been recently. 145 and 135 are not doing the prospects of the UFC creating the final WMMA division any help. Talent for those division are low and exciting fights for those division are low. I don't lump 125 with those anymore. It started out slow due in part to Nico, young talent needing to mature and a very dominant Valentina but I think 125 is in a really good space right now and clearly the second best UFC WMMA division despite it being the youngest one. Santos taking the fight to Valentina did a lot for the credibility of the division. Believe it or not Molly riding the Paddy wave and becoming a semi star is also good for the division. Molly was always popular but no where near a star until Paddy and her were both in the UFC.
 
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Rizz said:
It's spread too thin between Invicta, Rizin, ONE and other smaller promotions. When they opened 115 they could take what was considered the bulk of the marketable/talented fighters easily and keep them cost controlled for awhile while they build the division through TUF. Just prying away fighters from Combate had them giving one a starting contract of 25k/25k. Can you imagine what it would take for them to get one of the star 105ers from the Asian promotions? Do you think they would be willing to pay that for a division that will take like 2 or 3 years to grow and sort itself out?

Another problem is that there is no sure fire superstar. I guarantee you if there was a Ronda at 105 that division would have been opened years ago. While there might not be a super star of that level I think 105 gives the UFC best chance at an Asian champion with staying power that they have wanted for awhile. Zhang is amazing but 115 is too good for her to stay as the champ for too long. Asian regions have shown they are 100% willing to back any Asian WMMA fighter no matter how small she is so this should be counted as a plus.

I think the last problem I can think of at the top of my head has been how bad some WMMA divisions has been recently. 145 and 135 are not doing the prospects of the UFC creating the final WMMA division any help. Talent for those division are low and exciting fights for those division are low. I don't lump 125 with those anymore. It started out slow due in part to Nico, young talent needing to mature and a very dominant Valentina but I think 125 is in a really good space right now and clearly the second best UFC WMMA division despite it being the youngest one. Santos taking the fight to Valentina did a lot for the credibility of the division. Believe it or not Molly riding the Paddy wave and becoming a semi star is also good for the division. Molly was always popular but no where near a star until Paddy and her were both in the UFC.
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Also, if they really want a Mexican champ, Ana Palacios is young and super talented at 105
 

Seen this video on reddit so please don't give me credit for making it. I am just linking to something someone else made. I am posting it here because Gillian don't get the respect she deserves. She will never be champion but the way she is choking people is amazing. I think she has the most subs by a WMMA UFC fighter.
 
Rizz said:

Seen this video on reddit so please don't give me credit for making it. I am just linking to something someone else made. I am posting it here because Gillian don't get the respect she deserves. She will never be champion but the way she is choking people is amazing. I think she has the most subs by a WMMA UFC fighter.
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I believe she has the most subs by a fair margin and is up there for overall finishes. Her nickname is appropriate, she's definitely a savage.
 
Rizz said:

Seen this video on reddit so please don't give me credit for making it. I am just linking to something someone else made. I am posting it here because Gillian don't get the respect she deserves. She will never be champion but the way she is choking people is amazing. I think she has the most subs by a WMMA UFC fighter.
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Gilians big problem really is that she's an abysmal athleat by the standards of her peers. What a mismatch of talent/drive and physicality.
 
TorontoTO said:
What do you think is the hangup for promotions, be it UFC or whoever else, to not have Atomweight? Seems like a no brainer since more women are within that weight range when physically active compared to 135 or 145.
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135 had Ronda and 145 had Cyborg, 115 was the premium class with talent that they can pull 105 upto, and 125 was added for Valentina. So the trend is the ufc basically wants a bankable star to champion right away.


Rizz said:

Seen this video on reddit so please don't give me credit for making it. I am just linking to something someone else made. I am posting it here because Gillian don't get the respect she deserves. She will never be champion but the way she is choking people is amazing. I think she has the most subs by a WMMA UFC fighter.
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Don't fact check me but I'd be willing to bet she's got multiple UFC records for sub/finish/1st round stoppages and no fucking bonuses.
 
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