On Saturday February 23, 2013 Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche made history in the UFC franchise. Prior to this historic evening, there had never been a women’s UFC match and Dana White never planned on having one. That was until he saw Ronda Rousey fight. 

Ronda Rousey was the spark that ignited the fire that was the start of a revolution in women’s MMA. “Rowdy” Ronda showed up, she fought, she demolished her competition, she won her belt, she shocked the MMA world, and then became the highest paid UFC fighter. She changed the game for the better, because she opened the door for so many astounding females to take part in the biggest fighting game of the world. Before joining the MMA, Rousey earned back-to-back golds at the Pan American Championships, and a 2008 Olympic bronze medal in Judo following in the footsteps of her mother. Before the UFC her professional record was 6-0, and boy did she surprise everybody with her talent.

Nunes, Cyborg, Holmes, and Namajunas are just a few of the most successful female fighters that followed the success of Ronda. These women have been role models to many girls around the world and not just in fighting, but in all aspects of life. They teach hard work, patience, responsibility, focus, structure, and so much more. These women spend hours upon hours of training putting their bodies through intense workouts to fight.

In 2016 at UFC 198 a fighter by the name of Cris Cyborg won her 16th straight win during her first UFC fight against Leslie Smith in a catchweight bout. After this fight she took the women’s division by storm enialating her opponents. Cyborg really made the headlines when she had a very dangerous weight cut for a fight. In only four days she cut 24 pounds to get to a total of 140 lbs. She showed true strength and composure to get to where she needed to be. After her contract ended with the UFC she moved on to Bellator, where she of course won a title in her first fight. Just recently, Cris Cyborg became MMA’s only Grand Slam Champion, male or female, by winning every world title in the sport.

The most recent fight was at UFC 248. For the Strawweight belt Joanna Jedrzejczyk fought against the champion Weili Zhang. This fight lasted all five rounds and resulted in Zhang winning and remaining the champion by decision. Dana White, Joe Rogan, and all of the MMA world were shocked at how amazing the fight turned out to be. Both women showed crazy athleticism and strength. By the end of the fight Jedrzejczyk’s face was swollen five times the size it was before the fight, but not at any point did it get in the way of her finishing the fight. She did not falter. This was not only the greatest fight in Women’s Strawweight history, but in all of Strawweight history.

The history of Women’s UFC is an inspiring one. It is one composed of strength, unity, and respect. I think the MMA world is gonna have a rude awakening with the brute force of female power coming to take over.