Bellator is actually a pioneer when it comes to women’s MMA. Not many fans know it but back in the day, Bellator hosted a women’s strawweight tournament which crowned Zoila Frausto Gurgel as its first champion. It was super-innovative at the time, chock full of talent (including names like Megumi Fujii, Carla Esparza and Jessica Aguilar) and came THREE YEARS before Ronda Rousey debuted in the UFC.
Zoila took a beating to win the Bellator belt.
Bellator also hosted a number of prominent women for one-off fights. While the fights were often stuck on the prelims as well, they still included names like Felice Herrig, Jessica Rakoczy and Holly Holm, which is a big boon for the promotion and women’s MMA as a whole.
Holly Holm in Bellator, two years before she debuted in the UFC.
That, however, was then. This is now, and now…Bellator MMA wants you to know that women’s MMA doesn’t really count for anything. So what brings that about? Find out on the next page.
Continue to the next page:
Page 1 of 2:
