Tamires
Vidal’s technical knockout loss to Melissa
Gatto at UFC
Fight Night 241, which occurred as a result of a punch to the
breast, has sparked a debate in women’s MMA.
Advertisement
Tainara
Lisboa, who was part of the UFC Fight Pass Brasil commentary
team for the event, noted that the rules are the same for men and
women — which means there is no foul for blows to the breasts.
However, Lisboa pointed out that such strikes could cause the
appearance of nodules, which lead to breast cancer.
The need for debate gained even more traction after reporter Evelyn
Rodrigues‘ post-fight with Melissa
Gatto.
“Studying for the fight I noticed that she felt a lot of pain with
punches to the breast in some previous fights, so I made a point of
asking the referee, when he came to my locker room before the
fight, if I hit the area it would be a foul, and he made it clear
that it would not be an illegal [strike],” Gatto said. “The referee
himself clarified that if I hit her and she asked to stop, that I
should continue fighting. He himself said only when I said so. And
that’s exactly what I did.
Lisboa’s remarks and Gatto’s interview sparked further debate on
the topic after UFC Fight Night 241. ON his “Momento Bravo” Youtube
podcast on Sunday, IMMAF refereeing director Guilherme Bravo made a
point to emphasize that Gatto played by the rules.
“Melissa was intelligent, she studied the rules, noticed her
opponent’s weak point and worked on it,” Bravo said. “The issue
here is not to blame the athlete, but to raise a necessary debate
for the evolution of the sport, which today is played by men and
women, but the rules were made only by men.”
Carlao Barreto, the main commentator for UFC Fight Pass Brasil,
agreed with Bravo on his Monday podcast, “Papo de Luta.”
“I sent a message to Claudia
Gadelha, who is now a UFC employee, as soon as the broadcast
ended,” Barreto said. “Women need to come together to do something.
It may not necessarily be changing the rules, but at least creating
an official outfit for girls with a mandatory protective bustier.
UFC is not redesigning gloves to evolve the sport, it would be the
same path towards protecting women. Especially if there are already
studies proving the link between blows to the breasts and breast
cancer.”
Bravo also pointed out that the Association of Boxing Commissions
will have a large meeting this year to define the downed fighter
rule, and this would be an excellent opportunity to discuss this
issue as well.
“Debate is always important for the evolution of the sport,” he
said. “I think the girls could take advantage of this important ABC
vote this year to bring this issue to debate. This is serious
stuff.”