A commercial for the upcoming, all-women’s season of The Ultimate Fighter has stirred up some controversy in the MMA community.
The online promo has received mixed reviews with its tagline: “Easy on the eyes, hard on the face.” Critics say the promo is sexist and sends the wrong message trying to showcase the reality show and women’s MMA. In addition they feel the ad is unfair, due to the fact that none of the UFC promos previously–for UFC events or for TUF–were focused on the appearance of the male fighters.
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One of the girls featured in the promo is Canadian Randa Markos, who doesn’t take issue with the commercial.
“I was pretty happy with it, they are showing two different sides to us,” Markos told Sportsnet. “We’re women, we’re beautiful, and we’re just normal women. But at the same time we can be tough; we can go out there and put on a good show for you guys.”
The Maximum Training Centre product Markos revealed in an interview with Sportsnet prior to competition that she wanted to be represented as a professional athlete, not as a sex object. With that said, she doesn’t believe this promo represents that.
“I think it represents us pretty well. Just because we’re fighters, doesn’t mean we’re going to be butch, we also have a pretty side and a womanly side. We’re women, some of us are moms, and some of us have normal, everyday lives. Then we put our gloves on and we mean business.”
The 29-year old isn’t the type of fighter–say like fellow competitor Felice Herrig–where you’ll find pictures her online wearing next to nothing. She’s a humble, dedicated fighter who earned her way into the competition with her skill set. She believes the ad strikes a good balance between woman and fighter.
“I think it’s more empowering for us [than anything]. It shows just because we’re fighters, doesn’t mean we walk around with a chip on our shoulder.”
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