Can Female MMA Hold Its Own in The UFC or WEC?

Nearly all MMA fans can testify to the prominence of Gina Carano as a fighter. When people watch Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, nobody doubts her fighting ability. These are the two most notorious women of MMA, but they are merely a couple out of many other female fighters that professionally compete.

However, when looking at the potential viability of female MMA integrated into the UFC or WEC, ratings are what need to be considered. Does female MMA have what it takes to draw ample viewers?

The Strikeforce female card that showed Carano vs. Cyborg was Showtime’s biggest MMA success to date, which averaged 576,000 viewers; and to counter the event, Zuffa strategically replayed UFC 100 on Spike TV that exact same evening to counter Showtime’s ratings, which probably would have only added to Showtime numbers had UFC 100 not re-aired.

Compared to Showtime’s biggest female match, the average number of viewers for Showtime’s biggest male MMA bout ( Tank Abbott vs. "Kimbo" Slice) averaged 522,000 viewers.

It’s true that the Carano/Cyborg match occurred a year and a half after Abbott and Kimbo fought, so Strikeforce’s growth in viewers should be taken into consideration when comparing ratings between the two matches; but regardless of how many more viewers Showtime gained from Strikeforce over that time period, it’s apparent that there’s definitely a market for female MMA.

The real concern Zuffa would probably have is whether the amount of UFC/WEC fans willing to purchase Pay-Per-View to watch female MMA cards realistically compares to the amount of consumers that regularly order Pay-Per-View to watch standard UFC/WEC matches.

If there’s going to be money generated from this endeavor, consistency in delivering high quality fights and a valid number of exciting competitors are needed. Carano vs. Cyborg was the biggest match between the two biggest stars of female MMA.

However, they are but two fighters and that was only one match. Aside from these two competitors, does female MMA have enough fighters willing to professionally compete? Yes. Do they fight at a level needed to keep matches exciting enough for UFC/WEC viewers? Sometimes. Do people know about these fighters? No.

A lot of time would be needed to essentially build a whole separate empire, and critics may be right in saying that it would either be too big a project to build proper momentum or too much loyalty to ask of their viewers lest Zuffa spreads the fans’ interest thin.

The UFC, for instance, is successful because it has high quality fighters and because every fighter has a distinct personality or story.

What’s the difference between Michael Bisping getting knocked out by Dan Henderson during UFC 100 and a bully at a Minnesota high school getting knocked out during gym class? Nobody knows who the bully is and consequently nobody cares what happens to him.

The same factor of anonymity would be the biggest hurdle to face if female MMA is ever promoted by Zuffa.

Everyone knows that Dana White is a businessman, so if the male to female MMA comparison on the Showtime ratings map displays a relative likelihood of viewers, Dana White should at least consider the possibility of a nearly untapped market—untapped in the sense that female MMA hasn’t been properly promoted.

With the right marketing, Zuffa could draw in huge numbers by expanding audiences to include both Showtime viewers as well as additional female viewers. As with any new endeavor, though, there are risks to consider.

One risk is putting forth a large amount of money needed for additional advertising and purses only to have an insufficient number of consistent viewers. Another risk is not obtaining enough high profile female fighters as the number of such competitors is nowhere in comparison to the number of able and ready male fighters.

Fans wouldn’t want to see a female fighter who’s simply willing to step into the Octagon; they would want to see a fighter who’s looking to knock out or submit her opponent.

Yet another risk is meeting the need of additional air time is possibly demanding too much money from already loyal viewers or, even worse, having inflated ratings from viewers watching out of mere curiosity for the first few events only to have the numbers plummet, thus hurting the reputation of Zuffa promoting high quality fights.

However, there could be a lot of good to come from putting female MMA into the mix. For one, adding in a number of high profile, key female fighters could guarantee UFC/WEC viewers high interest matches by throwing in one or two female fights on a standard fight card.

Another factor to consider is that if Zuffa took hold of female MMA, a lot more competition would come about, which would make it tough to join and thus demand exciting fights.

Perhaps the initial integration of female bouts into the UFC or WEC could take place on Spike TV as cable seems to be the more plausible medium by which to advertise and draw in unsure or curious viewers. As for making the shift to Pay-Per-View, that’s possible, but it would be way down the line and only if the circumstances were favorable.

Zuffa is successful because they consistently promote exciting fights. Female MMA would probably need to be effectively promoted by Zuffa and proved to hold its own for a year or two before qualifying as a solo Pay-Per-View attraction.

On the whole, current UFC/WEC fans wouldn’t want to have their fights spread thin, and rightfully so. Female MMA would be a big promotion risk and a huge balancing act for Zuffa, and it would be hard to integrate it into the UFC/WEC fan base without diluting what is already strong competition. Why fix what isn’t broke?

Nobody denies that a few of the top female competitors currently fighting for Strikeforce can deliver exciting fights, but “few” is the key word. Nonetheless, from an entertainment standpoint, it’s safe to say that female MMA being adopted by the UFC or WEC is worth looking into.