VanZant Criticism Demonstrates Sexism by UFC Fans

Sexism and the objectification of women is an intricate issue that has affected the sports culture for decades.

Unfortunately for fans of the UFC, mixed martial arts is not immune to this plague. While the UFC and mixed martial arts community has made progress promoting and expanding women’s mixed martial arts, there are still constant examples of sexism from fans and pundits. 

The latest example that demonstrates the sexist UFC culture comes from the women’s flyweight division. 135-pound fighter Paige VanZant participated in a Sports Illustrated photoshoot recently for the publication’s swimsuit issue. When this news was released, critics felt that this endeavor tarnished VanZant’s reputation as a fighter. 

In an article posted on the bjpenn.com blog titled, Paige VanZant knocks ‘morons’ who criticized SI swimsuit shoot, “12-guage” quickly dismissed these critics. “I don’t think there should be any question about my fight career at this point, said VanZant. “I’ve broken my arm twice. Maybe I don’t look like a professional fighter but, hey, I was born this way. Call my mom and dad.”

The UFC has been putting on mixed martial arts events for over 25 years, however, the first women’s match took place on February 23, 2013–20 years after the UFC’s inaugural event. Even UFC President Dana White participated in this sexism in 2011. In a video released by TMZ on January 9, 2011, White is asked if women will ever fight in the UFC. With a smirk on his face, he replied–Never. Two years later Ronda Rousey broke through that barrier and became one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts history. Even Rousey experienced criticism stemming from sexism. Some critics felt that her looks were the catalyst for her career and the advancement of women’s mixed martial arts. 

Another example of the sexist culture surrounding the UFC comes from stand-up comedian and UFC fan Joey Diaz. Diaz was commenting on Mackenzie Dern’s UFC debut on Twitter following the UFC 222 event when he released this controversial tweet. I scrolled through the comment section under this tweet and in my opinion, the gifs, memes, and snide remarks seemed to support Diaz’s tweet. I don’t know why I was shocked to see this, but I had some small hope that the overwhelming majority of commenters would be condemning this type of tweet. Diaz went on to release a statement on Twitter claiming that he said this crude comment, “In the heat of comedic passion.” Pardon me Mr. Diaz–I know I am not the comedic genius you are–but comparing that tweet with anything resembling a joke is disrespectful to some of the legends you name dropped in that tweet. To make matters worse–less than two months later–Diaz went back on Twitter, doubling down on his sexist comments. Unfortunately for all of us, Joe Rogan was not able to comment on this tweet like he did on Diaz’s first tweet. 

Sexism and the objectification of women has been a parasite on the mixed martial arts community since its inception and we need to address this issue now. Not much has changed in the last six years and if we don’t address these issues now–sexism will continue to plague the sport we love.

What can the UFC and the mixed martial arts community do to curb the sexist roots imbedded in the culture?