Do Ranked Women’s Fights In The UFC Really Deserve Main Card Placement?

To understand this situation, it helps to also understand that women’s bantamweight has historically largely been defined by dominant reigns by Ronda Rousey and Amanda Nunes. Those two destroyed nearly every challenger they faced, which greatly diminished the profile of those fighters.

That diminution has not been helped by potential contenders losing at inopportune times. The likes of Vieira, Macy Chiasson, Yana Santos, and Karol Rosa would be fighting for the title if not for their inability to sustain momentum. It is a phenomenon that often irks UFC matchmakers, and putting those women in the prelims after a loss seems to be their way of punishing it.

The problem is that it also apparently applies even when a contender is on a win streak. Since permanently returning to 135, Dumont has won two straight against Germaine de Randamie and Irene Aldana. Both of them have been in title fights. The low placement of her next fight instead seems to be Vieira’s punishment for botching her weight cut last time around.

The same logic may apply to next week’s card. Jacqueline Cavalcanti, who faces former title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva, is on a four-win streak, yet she is provisionally slated to be in the prelims. In Bainbridge’s words, how can fans be expected to care about her if she does not get a pedestal? What happens when she gets a title shot (and it is not far-fetched in as shallow a division as hers)?

Current champion Kayla Harrison will eventually retire, and so might Nunes after fighting her. If the UFC wants fans to get behind the next crop of contenders, it needs to put the fights in prominent positions. The fans themselves should also be more open to supporting the fighters instead of denigrating them just because “women”.

Similar Potential Cases At The Lower Divisions

This is not to say that women’s strawweight and flyweight divisions are any better.

Last month, Tatiana Suarez found herself in the prelims – just one fight removed from challenging for the title. Granted, she was not exactly bothered by it, but given recent developments, she could have used a main-card placement to increase awareness of her standing. Instead, will many fans care should she become Dern’s first challenger?

The next person who could be shafted is Erin Blanchfield at UFC 322. Already victimized by Maycee Barber’s fight-day cancellation of their main event, she could have been compensated accordingly but must instead fight below her standing against Tracy Cortez. Barber herself may be next against Karine Silva at UFC 323, as punishment for the aforementioned disaster.

Then there is the UFC’s last event of the ESPN era, which features a strawweight clash between Gillian Robertson and Iasmin Lucindo. That fight has to be on the main card, because either of them may become a title challenger in this new era for the division.

End Of My UFC Women’s Rant

There is a silver lining for the placement of women in UFC cards: the upcoming CBS/Paramount+ deal. With the PPV model set to be ditched, all events will theoretically be on equal standing. This makes title fights at non-numbered events – something that has not happened since the first Noche UFC – viable again.

Perhaps women will get more shine under this system. If the numbered cards prove too lofty for them, then they can carry the Fight Nights, and that is a net positive for the promotion.