Amanda Nunes doesn’t have the sex appeal that Holly Holm, Ronda Rousey, or Gina Carano had, and that’s about it. What’s amazing is that few people will come out and say it since quite honestly the UFC isn’t really about sex appeal, it’s about who can get in there and bang and who can bring the most honor and popularity to the title. Were the UFC a high school popularity contest she might be the girl that tried the hardest and did the most work but still didn’t manage to capture the attention of the crowd since they would already be too distracted by a pretty smile from the other women. If people can’t say this because of one reason or another that’s too bad, because quite honestly Amanda can bang and she’s done this against some of the best in the business already, no matter if she hasn’t brought in as many viewers. Once again that comes back to who looks the most pleasing and who’s hyped the most, as Rousey and Holm managed to gain a lot of hype and as a result were known even to those that didn’t really care about the UFC. Andreas Hale of Sporting News has the right of it when he brings up the fact that UFC President Dana White even sticks up for Nunes as he knows what she’s worth and will gladly shoot down any rumors that she’s not worth the trouble.
Ryan Harkness of MSN seems to love stating that Nunes doesn’t have the star power of Rousey and Cyborg, both women that Nunes decimated in the ring, and while he’s kind of right his estimation still isn’t all that even-handed it would seem since if she managed to get a push her star would rise in a big way. As of now though it would seem that to many she’s damaging the sport for women since she’s beaten some of the best and is still a relative unknown to anyone but the most diehard fans. Casual fans knew something at least about Holm, Cyborg, and Rousey, and they know even more now since Rousey went into movies and then into the WWE. The unfortunate part of this is that Nunes probably won’t get that kind of respect since for some reason being able to beat whoever she stands against in the ring just isn’t enough to really watch her star rise, nor is it enough to make her most popular woman on the roster. Does anyone remember when getting to the top meant people actually looked up to you and admitted that you had the merit to be deemed the best?
Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports goes a little deeper into who she is, where she came from, and what she’s done in order to get to where she is, and if it was known by more people just how hard she’s worked, how far she’s come in a very short time, they might actually respect her a bit more. This is a woman that didn’t have the advantages that others did, and while it’s not fair to state that the other women were lesser fighters for this, since they aren’t, it’s definitely worth noting that not a one of them had to come from the literal bottom as Nunes did. She had to rely on the kindness of others in order to move ahead in life, she had to train hard on her own, she had to earn her way into the ring, and she had to push harder and further than anyone to reach this level. So is it any wonder why she’s that much better? She’s managed to step up and take down some of the best fighters in the UFC, and still people don’t seem to think she’s worth that much. At this point it almost seems that she might have to play up her struggle in order to get anyone’s attention, but that could backfire as well since it might give her the kind of ego that she can’t afford to have in the ring. Anyone want to know why Rousey finally got knocked off her perch? She thought she was untouchable, bought into the hype, and was subsequently knocked off. Even when she came back and tried to regain her sense of self in the ring she was reminded that the landscape had changed and there was a new dominant force in the cage.
Amanda Nunes deserves more respect and she deserves the kind of hype that made Rousey, Holm, Cyborg, and Carano so famous. She’s reached the top without really looking for the accolades, and she’s held onto the championship now for a while on her own, she’s due a great deal of respect. The sad part is that she might not get it until she’s finally unable to do much more than be remembered as a champion upon retirement.Ronda Rousey
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