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06-05-2014, 12:54 AM
Feed Source: Bleacher Report MMA
2013 saw an explosion in popularity for women's MMA. Once considered nothing more than a niche in MMA, the women's divisions have quickly become some of the most popular and exciting.
Women's MMA certainly has its detractors, though, and one of them is former Strikeforce and Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
Emelianenko said the following, per MMA Mania: "I respect the girls who defend the country's honor at the Olympics, in wrestling, boxing. But I do not support female MMA. A woman must take care of the house, raise her children and be feminine. There a lot of different sports which help her in that, but MMA is not one of them."
Expect UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey to provide a response should word of this get back to her. If you'll recall, she agreed with her rival Miesha Tate in calling Georges St-Pierre "ignorant" for his thoughts on women's MMA.
UFC president Dana White also infamously said he'd never allow women to fight in the Octagon.
Emelianenko's stance reflects that of someone with an old-school mentality, which means you're likely to either agree with him completely or disagree entirely.
Voters for Maxim's Hot 100 would definitely disagree with The Last Emperor's opinion of femininity, as Rousey, Tate and Gina Carano all appear on this year's list.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with him, it does seem odd that he's OK with women wrestling and boxing but has a problem with combining the two into MMA.
MMA fans will have to get used to women's MMA, as the next season of The Ultimate Fighter is set to feature the women's strawweight division. The show will crown the first-ever UFC women's strawweight champion, and the two teams will be coached by Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
2013 saw an explosion in popularity for women's MMA. Once considered nothing more than a niche in MMA, the women's divisions have quickly become some of the most popular and exciting.
Women's MMA certainly has its detractors, though, and one of them is former Strikeforce and Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
Emelianenko said the following, per MMA Mania: "I respect the girls who defend the country's honor at the Olympics, in wrestling, boxing. But I do not support female MMA. A woman must take care of the house, raise her children and be feminine. There a lot of different sports which help her in that, but MMA is not one of them."
Expect UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey to provide a response should word of this get back to her. If you'll recall, she agreed with her rival Miesha Tate in calling Georges St-Pierre "ignorant" for his thoughts on women's MMA.
UFC president Dana White also infamously said he'd never allow women to fight in the Octagon.
Emelianenko's stance reflects that of someone with an old-school mentality, which means you're likely to either agree with him completely or disagree entirely.
Voters for Maxim's Hot 100 would definitely disagree with The Last Emperor's opinion of femininity, as Rousey, Tate and Gina Carano all appear on this year's list.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with him, it does seem odd that he's OK with women wrestling and boxing but has a problem with combining the two into MMA.
MMA fans will have to get used to women's MMA, as the next season of The Ultimate Fighter is set to feature the women's strawweight division. The show will crown the first-ever UFC women's strawweight champion, and the two teams will be coached by Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com