Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate, Mir vs Nogueira: Why the Double Standard in MMA?

Ronda Rousey's violent armbar submission victory over Miesha Tate this past Saturday night may have created MMA's next great star, as the former Olympic medalist in Judo became the Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion in just her fifth professional fight.

The impressive performance was the highlight of a great night; however, some of that has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding how the fight was officiated. 

With Tate's arm bent almost completely in the opposite direction that it is meant to point, referee Mark Matheny opted to allow the champion to continue to fight through an armbar from Rousey. Seconds later, Tate finally submitted after her arm was apparently broken.

We later found out that Tate's arm wasn't actually "broken," but many fans and even members of the media took to the internet to voice their displeasure of the referee allowing Tate's arm to be damaged in any way. After all, it's a referee's job to protect the fighters at all times, right?

As brutal as the submission looked, this isn't the first time that we have seen a bone-wrenching hold applied in a major MMA bout in recent months. In fact, one of the most disgusting examples of this came in the recent rematch between UFC heavyweights Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Nogueira's toughness was put on display in the UFC 140 bout as he had his arm snapped in half by a kimura late in the first round. Referee Herb Dean looked on as the submission got increasingly worse before finally stepping in to stop the fight after Mir had broken the arm.

But after that fight, the talk of the MMA community wasn't about Herb Dean. As one of the most famous referees in the sport, Dean seemed to get the benefit of the doubt despite the painful result of the fight. Instead, fans were more excited to talk about the execution of the submission by Mir and the borderline insane pain tolerance from Nogueira. 

Certainly, many fans raved about both of those things following the Rousey-Tate fight, but much of the discussion also seemed to be centered around critiquing the referee's performance.

So, why the double standard?

Regardless of your opinions on women's MMA, the fact is that whether it's two women in the cage or two men, it's still the exact same sport. There aren't different rules for women, there aren't extra safety precautions and certainly the fighters themselves want be held to the same standards as the men. 

"If they don't tap, you keep going," Rousey told reporters in the post-fight press conference after defeating Tate. 

And it's not just Rousey who feels that way.

You won't hear Tate complaining about a late stoppage, either. Like a true champion, Miesha has done nothing but taken responsibility for her own decision not to submit before damage was done to her arm.

If she can take responsibility, why can't the people who are watching do the same?

Yes, these ladies are beautiful, and yes, it does make us cringe a bit more to see a woman injured versus a man. But that's part of being a fan of this sport.

If you can't handle it, change the channel. 

For more MMA news, fighter interviews and opinions, follow Nick Caron: @NicholasCaron.