Critics of women’s MMA have pointed out, really ever since the heavy push of Gina Carano in the Elite XC days, that the promotion of that side of the sport is as much or more about looks than actual fighting ability.
It’s a charge that has some truth to it. In today’s UFC, looks alone without fighting ability means nothing. But does it get you preferential treatment? Even today, the answer is clearly a yes. Like most things promoters do when it comes to decisions not based directly on wins and losses, it has to do with selling what the public is going to buy.