I'll be honest about how I was a few years back. I watched UFC primarily for the heavyweight and lightweight divisions. Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Conor McGregor in his prime. I was the guy who would use the women's fights to grab a second drink or check the scores from the afternoon football games.
I was wrong. Not just a little wrong. Fundamentally, embarrassingly wrong in a way that I think a lot of male MMA fans are wrong, and I want to explain how I got there.
The Fight That Changed It
UFC 248. Zhang Weili versus Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the women's strawweight title.
I watched it because my buddy who follows the sport closely told me I had to. He's the kind of guy who tells me I "have to watch" something every other week, so I half-ignored him. But it was the main event on a card I was watching anyway, so I didn't get up.
Five rounds later, I sat in silence for a few seconds. My wife, who normally falls asleep before the main card, was leaning forward in her chair.
What I had just watched was, and I'm not exaggerating, one of the best sporting events I had ever seen. Two elite strikers throwing everything they had for twenty-five minutes. A face swollen to the point of being medically concerning still pressing forward with combinations at the start of round five. A split decision that genuinely could have gone either way and neither fighter was wrong for thinking they had won.
I went back and watched it again the following morning. Then I went back and watched the first Joanna-Rose Namajunas fight. Then the Namajunas-Zhang Weili fight. Then the Valentina Shevchenko title defenses. And then I watched Amanda Nunes vs Cris Cyborg, which took 51 seconds and made me feel stupid for every second of skepticism I had ever carried.
Why My Skepticism Was Dumb
Here's the thing about my previous position: it was based on nothing. I hadn't watched women's MMA. I had formed an opinion from a position of complete ignorance and then used that opinion to justify not watching, which ensured my ignorance would never be challenged.
That's a bad loop to be in for any reason. It's especially bad when what you're missing is genuinely excellent.
The argument I used to make, the one a lot of guys make, is something about physicality. Women don't hit as hard, don't generate as much power, the fights aren't as "real." This is such a weak argument once you actually watch the sport.
First, it confuses power with skill. Elite MMA is not primarily a power sport -- it's a precision sport where power matters as one tool among many. The striking of Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the jiu-jitsu of Mackenzie Dern, the wrestling of Tatiana Suarez, the complete game of Amanda Nunes -- none of these are diminished by the absence of heavyweight power. They're different expressions of the same athletic excellence.
Second, the physical ceiling is exactly as high as it looks. Nunes hitting Cyborg -- the scariest woman in combat sports for a decade -- and putting her down is a physically violent event. The finish of Rousey by Holly Holm's head kick is a physically violent event. Calling it "less physical" because of the athletes' gender is not analysis. It's bias.
Third, and maybe most importantly, the best women's fights have something that a lot of men's fights don't: sustained technical engagement across multiple rounds. The pattern in many men's heavyweight and light-heavyweight fights is explosiveness followed by gassing. The elite women's strawweight and flyweight fighters routinely put on five-round performances at a pace and technical level that the men's divisions rarely match.
What Actually Watching Does
The shift happened because I watched. That's literally all it was.
Once you actually watch Valentina Shevchenko fight, you understand why she's considered one of the most technically accomplished combat athletes in the world regardless of gender. Once you watch Rose Namajunas, you understand what ring generalship and precise timing look like in action. Once you watch Zhang Weili, you feel the pressure she creates and understand why opponents struggle to find answers.
These are not "good for women" athletes. They're exceptional athletes, period. The qualifier is doing real work to diminish them and it doesn't survive contact with their actual performance.
How to Get Other Dads to Watch
I've had some success converting other skeptical dads, and the approach that works is simple: don't argue about it. Just put on the right fight.
If someone is around for a UFC card and you have a compelling women's fight on the card, watch it together. Don't preamble it with "just give it a chance" or "you'll be surprised." Just watch it as though it's obviously worth watching, because it is.
The right fight for first-timers is anything involving Zhang Weili or Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Their style is immediately legible to anyone who's watched boxing -- elite striking at high pace with obvious power behind the shots. It's viscerally appealing even for someone who doesn't know the names.
For someone who's more into grappling and submissions, put on a Mackenzie Dern fight, or go back and watch some early Amanda Nunes content where her jiu-jitsu was the primary weapon.
The fights sell themselves. Your job is just to make sure they're actually watched.
The Daughters Factor
There's a reason this matters beyond just "good fights." If you have daughters, what they see on screen matters. When your daughter sees Amanda Nunes -- powerful, skilled, celebrated at the highest level of a combat sport -- and then sees her presented with the same reverence that male champions receive, something happens in how she understands what's possible.
I'm not saying every daughter needs to watch UFC. But the idea that elite women can compete at levels that command respect from the most demanding sport audiences -- that's not a small thing for a kid who's figuring out what the world has available to her.
I wish I'd watched sooner. I watch all of it now. The divisions are deep enough that there's a compelling women's fight on almost every significant card. If you're skipping it, you're missing something real.
The Zhang-Joanna fight is on UFC Fight Pass. Go watch it tonight. Seriously.