Womens MMA: 5 Minutes, 3 Minutes Or Bikini Fights?

Last weekend, during the Strikeforce women's MMA fight, the announcers asked an interesting question: Should the women fight the same five-minute rounds as the men?

They are, in fact, trained professionals who should have the full chance to show off their skills.

Even though there has been a lot of talk about the issues with women's MMA (i.e. stars not making weight, how they are portrayed, and who should be the face of MMA), I do not think that the length of the fight should be changed from its current three-minute format in Strikeforce.

Even though women are as skilled as men and train as hard as the the men, there is just something about violence against women that I can't stand, so the less time they have to hurt each other, the better.

On the plus side, shorter rounds tend to make for more action-packed fights, as there is no time to stall, which occurs sometimes in women's fights that go five-minute rounds.

(Side Note: I would also like to take this opportunity to take a swipe at Dana. The foul language used to attack the female journalist regarding her work is only something what a douche clown would do.)

On the other side of the coin in the round length debate is the issue whether or not the three-minute rounds are enough time to finish the opponent. Cyborg was able to finish the fight in the third and final round, which leads me to believe that 9 minutes will not be enough when she fights Gina Carano (it's rumored to take place in August).

I think solution here is to make this a championship match—perhaps WAMMA can throw a nice-looking belt in the cage and then the length of the fight will be 15 minutes:).

The Strikeforce event was quite satisfying for me as an MMA fan. I really liked how they showed fight stats (which UFC does not do). I wouldn't have realized how far behind Scott Smith was if they hadn't show the stat that he landed just 23 shots compared to 171 thrown and landed by Benji Radach.

It was an amazing comeback by Smith's hands of steel. You always have a chance to win, even when far behind in the third round and that's why I love MMA.

Lastly, I do not object to women in bikinis, especially if they have a body for it, but the dress code in the ring should be up to the fighters. It would be nice, however, if they can make weight and show some skin.

So, which direction should the women's MMA go?