Each week our Senior Editor Stephen Rivers is joined by “Your Majesty” Melanie Gale, in compiling a topical mixed martial arts based list. Their discussion and ranking of subjects that have no real bearing on anything may seem indulgent, but as we all know the internet loves lists, and so do they. This week’s topic is “Women’s MMA Dream Matches”, and by “dream matches” they mean matches they would personally like to see.
WOMEN’S MMA DREAM MATCHES
#10 – Tecia Torres vs Delaney Owen
Melanie: Torres is definitely the more elite fighter between these two strawweights, but Delaney Owen has a certain raw edge and determination to her striking that would make this an interesting fight. The energy fusion between the Tiny Tornado and Lil Scrappy would make this a probable fight of the night.
Stephen: I could see this turning into a real beating for Owen, but you know there is no way she would get deterred, constantly coming forward regardless. Even better, fans everywhere would get to break out the “these girls ALWAYS bring it” statements while you and I got called a pair of obnoxious cheerleaders for calling it a great fight.
#9 – Carla Esparza vs Sharon Jacobson
Stephen: Where wrestling is concerned there aren’t many women in MMA whose background involves more than a little time spent on the high school mats. Jacobson is a former US Nationals champion, and while she looked a little rough round the edges in her bout with Delaney Owen at Invicta 12, that only helps make the fight more exciting.
Melanie: Like you, I’d like to see these two wrestlers hit the mat. Esparza is often criticized for relying on her collegiate All-American skills in the cage a bit too much, but we’ve rarely seen her go up against a wrestler of Jacobson’s caliber. Fans often moan that two wrestlers make a boring matchup, but Jacobson has too much grit to lay and pray.
#8 – Alex Chambers vs Seo Hee Ham
Stephen: Seeing as the UFC has now got a bunch of atomweight fighters under contract, it would be refreshing to see them fight people their own size. My gut feeling is that we are a long way off them promoting an official atomweight division, so in the mean time I want to see some of these fighters matched evenly.
Melanie: A natural atomweight, Chambers is a strong and dynamic fighter whose size disadvantage keeps her from thriving at strawweight. The same goes for Seo Hee Ham. I would love to see these two mix it up in the octagon. Neither would have a size advantage, and both have good striking and grappling and a lot of heart. Two of the most underappreciated atomstraws in MMA.
#7 – Julia Budd vs Marloes Coenen
Stephen: As Coenen has found out, there aren’t exactly an abundance of great opponents available at 145 pounds. Julia Budd is one of the special few. A physically imposing Muay Thai standout who has shown improvement each time she has stepped into the cage. Bellator could do worse than to make this fight for their inaugural featherweight championship.
Melanie: Budd is the only woman to beat Gina Carano in Muay Thai competition. Coenen has beaten the best and lost to the best in MMA. Bellator need to make this a part of their featherweight division so this fight can happen.
#6 – Catherine Costigan vs Jessica Penne
Stephen: The disappearance of Cage Warriors Fighting Championships has been sad for a number of reasons, but not least because it’s meant we haven’t seen Costigan sub a fool since November of last year. Penne is a fantastic, still underrated fighter, and stylistically this would be a whole lot of fun.
Melanie: The silver lining to CWFC’s stall is Costigan inking a multi-fight deal with Invicta and bringing her fighting and personality to a wider audience. There’s a reason she has such a large following in Ireland. Penne is Penne: under-appreciated and amazing. Watching these two try to submit one another would be so much fun. This should be the title bout of the stupidly not-yet-formed UFC atomweight division.
#5 – Gina Carano vs Cat Zingano
Melanie: One real regret is that Gina Carano left the cage before Dana White came to his senses and signed women to the UFC. Carano wasn’t just a fan favorite, she was a terrific Muay Thai fighter. What better opponent for her comeback than the first woman to ever score a win in the octagon via TKO?
Stephen: I agree, I think it often gets forgotten that Carano could fight. Even her one round collapse against Cyborg saw her manage to back up her opponent and at one point end up mounting her before it all fell apart. Zingano’s knack for starting slow could see Carano build some early momentum making it even more exciting.
#4 – Jessica Aguilar vs Paige VanZant
Melanie: The It Girl versus The Legend. VanZant’s athleticism and pressure barrage of blows versus Aguilar’s slick grappling and experience. Can VanZant last against someone as relentless in the cage as she is?
Stephen: To get a true sense of how good VanZant is right now, rather than how good she might be in five years, she needs an opponent that won’t crumble when faced with her energy and movement. Kailin Curran wasn’t that girl, and neither was Felice Herrig. Jessica Aguilar is though. Let her play hype-killer and see what happens.
#3 – Barb Honchak vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Stephen: While other fighters dance awkwardly in front of parked vehicles, or call up Ariel Helwani on the MMA hour in desperate attempts to get noticed, Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s natural swag has turned her into one of the most compelling characters in the UFC. While I don’t buy into the notion that she’s already locked down the division after a misleading performance against Carla Esparza, many others do. Honchak hasn’t lost since 2010, is bigger and has the pedigree to drag Jedrejczyk into an exciting five round war.
Melanie: I totally agree with you that Joanna Jed isn’t the Ronda Rousey of the strawweights some have made her out to be, but her crisp, technical striking is a joy to watch, and I’d like to see her battle with an opponent who can stand up to that. Honchak is a top-notch fighter who many newer fans don’t really know, and she deserves a UFC division showcasing her skills. Barring that, she deserves testing her mettle against the new hot prospects and champions, and this matchup would do that.
#2 – Joanne Calderwood vs Alexa Grasso
Melanie: JoJo’s deceptively powerful Muay Thai-fueled punches and kicks paired with Grasso’s more traditional strikes and knees would make this a war of attrition for three rounds. Make it a title bout so we can see if they could make it all five rounds. I bet the answer is yes.
Stephen: Absolutely, seeing as we’re in full-on fantasy mode lets pretend that the UFC are going to let women who aren’t Ronda Rousey headline a show and make this a five round main event of a Fight Pass event. I think we all know we didn’t see the real “Jo Jo” in Krakow, and Grasso’s one of the most exciting prospects in the sport.
#1 – Angela Magana vs Bec Rawlings
Melanie: This strawweight matchup deserves its number one slot, because it would be a fight of epic drama. The TUF 20 Hunger Games with District Scrapette best friends as the final two tributes. Would Rawlings’ powerhouse brawling best Magana’s grappling? Who would win a decision? Would they exit the octagon still besties?
Stephen: Imagine the pre-fight back and forth. They might start off friendly but it’s bound to descend into vicious nastiness. There will be butt selfies, pre-sex selfies, talk of eating souls and threats of death. We will get f-bombs and c-bombs and debates on the true dimensions of the inside of their vaginas. It’ll be relentless and appalling and embarrassing, and what makes it even more appealing is that once it’s all said and done and they start hugging it out post-fight, one of them is probably getting cut.
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