If only all Swedish girls were young, fit and overly enthusiastic as the ones on our article banner. There was no second part to that previous statement; just a strong, unsolicited wish that all chicks from Sweden were nestled into the stereotype that we all assumed they would be. In reality, when I lived in Europe my flatmate was a Swedish chick that had all the identifying features of a moderately hot South Dakotian. It was strange, but that didn’t bother me from asking her to make me Swedish meatballs — and guess what, she did it.
Being that this news has everything to do with Sweden and our buds from MMAnytt.se hail from that part of the planet, it’s surprising they were ousted by Fighters Only breaking the news that the UFC pulled Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano due to the belief that the country just isn’t ready for female MMA.
The fight was pulled because it was felt by Garry Cook, the UFC VP in charge of UK and European operations, that it wasn’t suited to the Swedish audience.
Sweden is a new market and there is still some considerable opposition to the UFC among that infamously liberal and ‘progressive’ nation’s press. Politically it is a very left-wing country and it was only in 2007 that a 1970 ban on professional boxing was lifted.
Alexander Gustafsson has spearheaded the charge into what has proven to be an unexpectedly lucrative market for the UFC, but the potential for the national press to dislike or misinterpret a women’s fight was felt to be too high to risk.
Props to Fighters Only on the apparent scoop. It’s clear there’s a war going on in Sweden for MMA supremacy, and judging from what I’ve heard throughout the year, it may get a little ugly. Still, a Swedish ‘ugly’ is like a Chicago ‘average,’ so in reality this may be the most handsome MMA news war the world has ever seen.
