The Top Women Competing In Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed martial arts

While there are Mixed martial arts fans

Mixed martial arts, in fact, most martial art s in general, have always been dominated by men. While there are Mixed martial arts fans who believe this is the way it should always be, there are many tough women competing in professional bouts who attack the sport with the same ferocity as the men. Beginning with the Carano-Maxwell fight in 2006, women have made their presence known and are not going to leave Mixed martial arts anytime soon.

One of the most important organizations for women's Mixed martial arts has been Strikeforce.

A Strikeforce fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane Santos drew more than 850,000 views in 2009. For those who believe that women Mixed martial arts can't bring the audience, these numbers certainly suggest otherwise.While Carano has not fought since her loss against Santos during that high-profile 2009 fight, she is still known as the face of women's mixed martial arts and has a 7-1 pro record. Her only loss was against Santos. She also has a pro kickboxing record of 12 wins and two losses.Cristiane Santos is a terrifying presence in women's Mixed martial arts with a record of 10 wins, one loss and one no contest. Born in Brazil, Santos trained at the Chute Boxe Academy before coming to the states and joining the team at The Arena in San Diego. Her last fight was in 2011 against Hiroko Yamananka. The fight was originally a TKO, but was changed to no contest after Santos failed a drug test and was suspended from competition. While she did appeal the conviction, she will not be eligible to fight until December, 2012.Another top woman competitor is undoubtedly Ronda Rousey, although she still will need to have a few more fights under her belt before being considered as one of the greats. So far, she holds an undefeated record with five pro wins. She won the bantamweight title after defeating Miesha Tate. In addition to her Mixed martial arts career she also competed in Judo at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games, earning a bronze medal in Beijing.While Miesha Tate might have lost her title to Rousey, she still boasts a strong 12-3 pro record and is consistently on top ten lists when considering women fighters. A former champion high school wrestler, she also has an impressive MMA amateur career, winning five of her six bouts before turning pro.

women's Mixed martial arts

Despite her lack of Strikeforce experience, Tara LaRosa is considered to be one of the best female mixed martial artists ever. Her 21-2 record is impressive, but because she weighs in at only around 125, there are no weight classes for her in Strikeforce. Despite this she has defeated tough opponents such as Megumi Yabushita and Shayna Baszler.

by Rod Bourgoine

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="275" caption="mixed martial arts"]

[/caption]

Rod Bourgoine enjoys writing about mixed martial arts advantages. For more information about an MMA gym in San Diego or to find boxing classes in San Diego, please visit The Arena MMA site today.