Since the explosion of the women’s divisions this past year . Many great female fighters have emerged and showcased their talents in 2011. Women like StrikeForce Champions Cristiane Cyborg and Miesha Tate show they have what it takes to take down their opponents and keep them down. Rising stars like Gina Carano, Marloes Coenen, Jessica Aguilar and Rhonda Rousey continue to escalate in popularity yet the UFC seems to remain uninterested.
We sit down with professional boxing trainer and noted MMA UFC Judge Richard Bertrand to get his point of view on the topic.
Gwen-"Many of us know you as UFC judge but you also have background as a boxing training and judo player can you tell us a little bit your background?"
Richard “ My uncle got me into martial arts, before I was born he visited japan and fell in love with the culture, so many aspects and martial arts. I was very fortunate, he told my mother he would pay for me to train when I was old enough. I started martial arts approximately at age 6 or 7 with judo, later kickboxing- At an early age I had some learned grappling and throws and was doing some kickboxing a few days a week."
Gwen -"Was that western style kickboxing?"
Richard –“yeah mostly America style no leg kicks –from the waist up”
Later Richard also Served as a boxing, referee and judge ( ameteur and professional)
Gwen-"We know your stand up skills are in demand and you have worked with some notable names in Boxing –I know one of the camps was the Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor camp back in 2010. Who else have you trained with?"
Richard “Well I also did a little work with Stacy Riley and a few other amateur women boxers as well.”
Gwen- "In the boxing training centers you have trained at –are the women training alongside men in the ring or do they keep them separate? "
Richard “Well, with the women’s training they don’t train certain days of the week which is different and understandable but other than that they have the same passion and desire and they put in the work to compete at the highest level. Some of these girls like Stacy, like that shes training very hard and motivated to go out there and be one of the best.”
Gwen-"Is it true that sometimes the men and women sparred with each other because sometimes there weren’t enough women sparring partners?"
Richard- “It is very difficult to get sparring partners and 90-95% of the time they spar with the men and some of the men don’t take it easy on them and they don’t want to be shown up by a girl. So when you see a girl whos standing there giving her all with these guys, you know she going to be something special. Your starting to see more like Women like Christy Martin who brought a lot to boxing-opened the door for women-she came out to fight and they are exciting -- and women like Laila Ali she is beautiful but has the skills of a fighter as well "
Gwen-"I am not an expert on injuries but I would imagine hyperextensions, mild contusions ,split lips, strains as well as sprains and black eyes may happen in the coarse of training. Given that in your experience are female fighters slowed down by these type of minor injuries? Do they react different than the guys in the gym?"
Richard -“No , women are basically the same as the men with those types of injuries, from cuts that require stitches, broken nose, black eyes the kind of injuries from combat sports….Some of the women get cut maybe in sparring and want to continue it is kind of good in a way. Maybe in sparring or something in that way hypothetical that way they can see if that is what they really want to do.-Some of the women get cut and they want to continue. Some of these women are super, super tough not only that but they are very talented as well.”
As reported from Cristiane Cyborg's facebook
“While I was preparing myself for my last fight I was having a difficult time cutting weight and used a dietary supplement that I was assured was safe and not prohibited from use in sports competition. It was never my intention to obtain an unfair advantage over Hiroko, mislead Strikeforce, the commission or my fans. I train harder than any fighter in MMA and do not need drugs to win in the cage, and I have proven this time and time again.
My only mistake is not verifying the diet aid with my doctor beforehand, and understanding that it was not approved for use in the ring. Unfortunately in the end I suffer the consequences and must accept the responsibility for my actions.”
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Gwen- "I understand sometimes women have more trouble making weight because of water weight retention and turn to dietary supplements or diuretics in the gym—is that sort of thing common place? -Cristiane Cyborg was recently suspended and stripped of her title because as reported , she used something she claimed she was told that was safe"
Richard “Um, In the gym I don’t see that sort of thing. I don’t work with the nutritionsists or anyting like that. The people are on strict diets and train properly....The fighters always conditioned themselves with diets properly and made sure that they didn’t need to use any of those and yes they could show up on tests. Now adays the diuretics and all that will leave a positive with the tests they are running now. Something you definateley want to stay away from- you have discipline, you train right the weight should definitely come off.”
Gwen-"I have heard that there are negative connotations with female fights. These are the same negatives we already have with female boxing, women’s hockey , female bull riding and roller derby . In your experience as a professional trainer, have you seen hindrances from having a female driven card? "
Richard-"No actually as a judge, let me tell you I’ve judged a lot of fights. Some of the womens that stand out they were showstoppers. One was Cristiane Cyborg vs Shayna Basler I judged that one-a pretty exciting fight…I think basically if you go out buy a ticket-you wanna watc h a fight you just want to be entertained-whatever male or female-they put on a good show, people will go and buy tickets."
Recently TMZ reported that The UFC has banned another substance -- estrogen -- because UFC honcho Dana White tells us he will "NEVER" allow a female fighter to step inside his octagon.
Gwen-"With women’s MMA popularity on the rise we can't help but wonder why so resistant-why do you think this is?"
Their are rumors that Zuffa may dedicate StrikeForce to women’s bouts – Do you think that is a good idea? Do you see a women’s division forming in the UFC one day ?
Richard -“I think in time it will happen. I don’t know if there are enough women fighting right now or if there is a league or something that fights all the time. Just because we don’t see them out there we don’t know how many are fighting all the time. It’s kind of like the evolution of fighters now, from one discipline to become a more complete martial artist as well. As more and more women start getting into the sport I think there’s gonna be a time that they will headline shows and maybe their own divisions and promotions that dedicate themselves to women fights. “
Gwen-On aside note
"How do you feel about instant replay for UFC Events for referees?"
Richard-“It’s something that could come along and might help the sport. At the end of the night we want to make sure we get the calls right. I’m not sure if that’s something the athletic commission could maybe put out a study and maybe see what type of percentages of fights that might be helped out. You know, maybe a decision might be changed if the information would have been available. Like I said my time has a trainer I spent a lot of time in the gym with the fighters and I understand their sacrifices and everything they are put thru want the call to be the right one at the end of the night.”
excerpt from:
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/12/14/2634302/strikeforce-future-womens-mma-female-only
http://www.tmz.com/2011/01/19/dana-white-ufc-women-fighters-cris-cyborg-santos-gina-carano-mma-female/
Started training Matial Arts at the age of 7. Trained in Judo and Kickboxing.
Judged MMA as a pro in England, Ireland, Germany, Canada, and many states across the USA.
Events worked: UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, K1 Dynamite USA, Elite XC, IFL, Gladiator Challenge, Absolute Fighting Championship, Raze MMA Fight Night, Real Fighting Championships, Combat Fighting Championships, and others.
Notable fights judged:
Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes
Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans
Chuck Liddell vs. Keith Jardine
Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock (Championship Fight)
Anderson Sila vs. Nate Marquart (Championship Fight)
Frank Mir vs. Minotauro Nogueira
BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes (Championship Fight)
Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver (Championship Fight)
Georges St Pierre vs Matt Hughes (Championship Fight)
Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida (Championship Fight)
Jamie Varner vs. Cowboy Cerrone (Championship Fight)
Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson (Championship Fight)
Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki (Championship Fight)
Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson (Championship Fight)
Jose Aldo vs. Rolando Perez
First UFC as a judge: UFC 60 Gracie vs. Hughes
Total Championship fights judged as a pro: 28
Wanna get involved?
http://www.facebook.com/uamma.com.women.ufc
http://www.facebook.com/WomenFighters
