One Championship: Miesha Tate says Asia ‘still pretty far behind’ in accepting women’s MMA
- Women ‘still fighting to get on that mainstream platform’ in Asia, says UFC legend
- Now One Championship’s vice-president, Tate hopes to grow the women’s sport here the way she did in UFC
Despite the success of Angela Lee, female MMA fighters are still battling for acceptance in Asia, according to One Championship vice-president and former UFC star Miesha Tate.
Singaporean Lee, One’s atomweight champion, has helped put women’s MMA on the map in Asia with several huge bouts, including her five-round war against China’s “Panda” Xiong Jingnan in Tokyo in March. But Tate believes female fighters are not yet fully embraced here.
“I know that a lot of these women are still facing somewhat of an uphill battle to be accepted and even be allowed to train,” Tate, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, told The Sun in Singapore, which plays host to One’s “Enter The Dragon” event on Friday.
Lee and Xiong, who retained her strawweight title at Sumo Hall, were the co-main event in Japan but there is only one women’s fight out of 16 in Singapore and it’s on the preliminary card, with Mei Yamaguchi fighting China’s Meng Bo.
“Women have a place in martial arts and there’s never been a doubt in my mind. What I really appreciate about One Championship is that Chatri [Sityodtong, One CEO and founder] shares that vision,” said Tate, who now lives in Singapore with her family and also coaches at the Evolve MMA gym.
“At one point Angela Lee was the highest-paid athlete – if that doesn’t say something about the promotion and how they feel about women fighters. There is no segregation here.”