Curtis Blaydes Asks Fans Thoughts on Female MMA Fighters Being Marketed With Sexiness and Not Skill
When it comes to being a mixed martial artist, marketing is everything. Tons of factors go into being successfully marketed by a promotion. Especially a fight organization as large as the UFC. Before they invest in a fighter, lots of things need to happen. They must have an interesting background, be exciting in the octagon, and of course, win fights. Or do they? Sometimes, the UFC and it’s fans focus on the looks of female fighters more than their skill. UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes has apparently had enough and wants some honest answers to real questions regarding sexiness vs skill.
Blaydes Asks Social Media to Chime In On Female Fighters
Blaydes recently took to social media to open a forum for his fans. The question was simple, why do some female MMA fighters criticize when they’re oversexualized, yet provoke and profit off of it?
“I’m a girl dad so lemme make this clear I’m not against female athletes getting publicity and media push and love from fans when it’s deserved and earned thru legitimate hard work and grinding,” said Blaydes.
“My issue is why do so many female athletes complain and gripe about being overly sexualized by fans/media but then at the same time many of them are profiting off said sexualization thru media endorsements, high profile placement on fight cards, and overall popularity which leads to many other financial opportunities,” wrote Curtis.
Female Fighters Respond
Of course, female fighters responded to the message. Especially due to him calling out Paige Van Zant and Rachael Ostavich as prime examples of his ideals. Fellow Chicago native Pearl Gonzalez clapped back with a message of her own.
In Pearl’s opinion, Curtis should be using his platform to spread a better message. Instead of worrying about the marketing schemes of a handful of female fighters, maybe the energy would be better spent on trying to help them succeed.
So, what do fans think? Do they side with Blaydes or Pearl?
