Mixed martial arts organization Shooto Brazil recently announced a man vs. woman fight: Emerson Falcao would fight Juliana Velasquez in a three-round bantamweight clash.
But then Shooto revealed that the fight wasn't going to happen. It was all a hoax, designed to focus attention on the issue of violence against women and show Shooto's support of Brazil's
"Lei Maria da Penha" anti-domestic-violence law.
A member of the Brazilian athletic commission explained: "There’s no way a man should fight a woman. This is being done only to show the society the importance of ‘Lei Maria da Penha.’ You can’t have a man beating a woman in a sport, so it shouldn’t happen anywhere. That’s what they want to show."
But the hoax may not have had the desired effect because some people are asking why the idea of a man and woman fighting should necessarily be considered bad if both are trained professional fighters, evenly matched in size, doing it for sport. They're even suggesting that the real reason there aren't man vs. woman mma fights is because the men don't like the idea of being beaten by a woman. [
mmajunkie.com]
Comments