The WMMath podcast will be a semi-weekly source for fighting news out of the women’s divisions, discussion on current topics, fan questions, and of course great guests.
We had two great guests for the launch, which was recorded in the High Mountain Studios in Henderson, Nevada.
The flyweights are featured this time as InvictaFC hosts their second Phoenix Series Friday night. Set with a field of international talent, the winner has a shot of facing the winner of the Vanessa Porto and Karina Rodriguez for the flyweight title.
A group of young guns are also in line in reserve and non-tournament bouts.
For those new to the series, the tournament consists of one 5 minute round for the quarter and semi-finals, with the finals a full three round fight. Fastest finish time in the quarterfinals receives opponent choice for the semi-finals, plus any finish gets a bonus.
Weigh-ins and draws were held Thursday in Kansas City. All tournament participants made weight. Only Chantel Coates missed the mark on the whole card, and will forfeit 25% of her purse plus is now ineligible to be a injury replacement.
The card starts at 7 p.m. central time and will stream on UFC Fight Pass.
InvictaFC President Shannon Knapp is starting the stack the last two cards of the year, and one will crown a new strawweight champion.
Knapp announced on the “Beatdown After the Bell” podcast that Bellator vet and former flyweight title challenger Enily Ducote will face Rizin star Kanato Murata for the vacant 115 title. The belt was held by Phoenix Rizin 1 winner Brianna Van Buren before she signed to the UFC shortly after winning it. Continue reading Invicta Strawweight Title Match Announced; Gonzalez vs Walker Added to October Card→
It has been a few months since we had any articles up or the results updated.
The simple reason is I have moved – to Vegas! The past few months involved me prepping so the site was lower on the priorities. Now that I am here and settled, we are back up and running and ready to expand.
The podcast will start in the coming week, with our first live guest already lined up. Being in fighter central, we will be able to have guests on a weekly basis to keep you.
Starting Friday, we will start having live fight coverage from Tuff-n-uff MMA. The organization has seen the best amateur talent go though its doors and we look forward to see more of the rising stars shine under their lights.
We will continue to keep up fight results and give you information about upcoming events and new fighters making the scene from around the world.
Coverage starts Thursday with your primer for the Phoenix Series 2.
This past weekend, we saw Amanda Nunes successfully defend her title with a head kick finish over Holly Holm. Her hit list includes everyone who was champion at bantamweight and featherweight in the UFC.
The term “Greatest Female Fighter of All Time” was suddenly awarded by many fans and the media, but I was of the small group not giving her the moniker.
I currently give Megumi Fujii that title, due to her 22 fight win streak to begin her career and never being finished in her three losses. Nunes lost three times in her career, two times being finished.
This sparked debate about the criteria we use to consider GOAT status, with many giving their opinions on the subject.
Let’s breakdown the list and see arguments from both sides.
Unbeaten Streaks
This is my top criteria for GOAT, which seems to be a lesser factor for most. Fujii, like her male counterpart Fedor, went on a massive undefeated streak. Fujii went to win 22 straight fights with 20 finishes before her first ever loss, a streak that may never be broken by a female fighter.
Fighting in their Prime
Another argument is Nunes is currently fighting “in her prime”. Her losses were when she was still developing.
Nunes came into the sport just after the era began when amateur divisions started to come into the picture. Once you turn pro, losses count. Many fighters will develop enough in the amateurs to work out their holes in their game. This could prove to be an argument in the future if a fighter goes on a huge win streak and has amateur losses.
Should be noted amateur fights were also rare in Fujii’s time.
There is also the consideration of more fights in less time. With the popularity of the female divisions now, the number of fights per year has dramatically increased. So is recovery a factor? Does having more fights in a shorter amount of time play a factor?
Quality of Competition
When Fujii went on her legendary run, the women’s divisions were still in their infancy. Many had only very few fights under their belt before meeting Fujii.
Nunes’s supporters point out that her wins were over more tougher and quality opponents, which is a valid point.
That begs a question. In the current era, the sport and training methods have evolved. From weight cutting to cross training, MMA athletes have more resources at their disposal. Back in the day, “MMA gyms” were few and far between, especially for female fighters. What is tougher – training in less than great circumstances or facing an opponent who has the same advanced resources as yourself?
Best example is the home run record in baseball. In the day of Hank Aaron, the idea or training, even in the off season, was nonsensical. In the 90’s, men like Barry Bonds soon took to training methods in the off season to improve his hitting. Things from reaction training to weight training. (The idea of performance enhancers – we will get to later).
Does it make Hank Aaron less great? For that matter does it make Michael Jordon less great compared to Lebron James, or Wilt Chamberlain before him?
There is a great Ted Talk on this idea and you can watch it below.
Weight Class
It should also be note Fujii was in the era of a limited pool of fighters. She has faced fighters as heavy as 135 pounds, and could have easily made 105 if the division was developed at the time. Nunes has proven to be dominate in two weight classes – 145 and 135.
It has been proven over the past few years 115 and 125 are deeper and more natural weight classes for women. So does that mean the deeper the pool, the more argument you could have for being a GOAT?
Same argument can be stated about the men’s divisions as 155 and 170, which has a deeper talent pool than their heavyweight or light heavyweight counterparts.
Nattie GOATs
This does not pertain to the initial argument, as Nunes and Fujii have never tested positive for prohibited substances.
That being said….
In Fujii’s time, it was the wild, wild west when it came to performance enhancers. There was little to no testing like there currently is. Is it possible some of her opponents had them? We will never really know.
This argument, however, more pertains to the main event on this past weekend’s card: Jon Jones. Having been caught with performance enhancers in the past, does he deserve to be called GOAT? Daniel Cormier also has an argument since all of his fights with Jones were basically no contests due to testing positive for prohibited substances. Even then we go back to the idea that heavyweight and light heavyweight are a smaller pool of talent.
Popularity vs Accomplishments
The also needs to factor in. If you ask most UFC fans who Megumi Fujii is, they have no clue. One argument lobbed to me was that Fujii didn’t have a significant win like Nunes. You have to again remember that in Fujii’s day, the women’s divisions weren’t as popular.
What do you define as significant? Is the amount of people watching an important fight or the athlete accomplishing something that the sport has not seen?
I will also point out the UFC argument. Can there be GOATS outside of their promotion? For years Fedor was considered GOAT, having never stepped in the octagon.
Should We Decide as a Career as a Whole in Retirement?
A point someone brought up was “should we even give someone that moniker before they retire”? It is an interesting question.
Many had considered Ronda Rousey the greatest female fighter of all time until she got knocked out by Holly Holm. Cris Cyborg was the greatest until she got knocked out by Nunes. If someone was to knock out or submit Nunes, does that make that woman “Female GOAT”? Should we wait until their resume is truly complete to make that determination? All fighters lose in MMA at some point, but quickly changing the title of “GOAT” goes away so often, maybe we need to consider it.
The thing is this will always be debated. As fans, we love to. The question of who is “The Greatest of All Time” will never really be settled. Current fans will always consider who they seen in their time, while historians like myself will always seek back to accomplishments those athletes in a time when the sport was in its infancy.
History will be made Friday night as a new tournament format will be introduced, and a new champion will be crowned.
The Phoenix Rising one night tournament takes place Friday night in Kansas City and will be live on UFC Fight Pass. One round fights happen for the quarter and semi-finals, with the finals being three rounds. The winner takes home the strawweight title, vacated by Virna Jandiroba, who has signed to the UFC. Continue reading InvictaFC Phoenix Rising 1 Primer→
We’re catching you up on a busy weekend. “Girls, Grappling, and Grit” premieres at the Artemis Film Festival in Santa Monica Sunday. We will talk about Combate, who has their Reinas card Friday; where Nicco Montano has been and when we expect her return; Bellator and their new signing; UFC in Fort Lauderdale; and an update on the Invicta Phoenix Rising tournament and when their next event is.
It was a loaded last week of February as we discussed results from Invicta, Bellator, UFC, and Combate. Plus some familiar faces go to new gyms, an active spring in the UFC, Combate signing three new athletes, and we answer the question “ What female division is the strongest long-term?”
A busy fight weekend starts with InvictaFC Friday night on UFC Fight Pass.
The main event will fill the vacant flyweight title as Pearl Gonzalez (9-3) faces perennial contender Vanessa Porto (20-8).
The co-main and featured bouts are tournament semi-finals to find a contender for the main event winner. Milana Dudieva (12-7) and Karina Rodriguez (6-3) will take the co-main spot with DeAnna Bennett (9-4-1) vs. Miranda Maverick (4-1) as the featured fight. Continue reading InvictaFC 34 Preview Show Plus Weigh In Results→
