Joe “Diesel” Riggs: Stupid, Sexist, and In Denial

I don’t expect much from a man that once got into a physical altercation at a hospital after a fight with the opponent that he had just defeated, but in all honesty, the comments recently made by Joe Riggs concerning Strikeforce’s 135-pound Women’s Champion Sarah Kaufman and the Strikeforce women’s division in general took me by surprise. For those unaware, Kaufman recently caused a bit of a stir when she publicly criticized Strikeforce for continually putting her on the “Strikeforce Challengers” series of shows, which are events designed mainly to highlight up-and-coming unknown fighters. Riggs recently commented that Kaufman should be happy to be on TV at all, and that “the men are what people are here to see”. While I disagree with Kaufman regarding her placement on lower-end shows (more on that later), I think Riggs is moronic to criticize the Strikeforce Women’s division as a whole, especially when you consider that Riggs’ popularity is a shadow of its former self, and that one of Strikeforce’s best assets is a female fighter whose popularity is higher than Riggs’ ever was.

But first, a word on Sarah Kaufman. Riggs doesn’t have much of a point, but I think that Kaufman doesn’t have much of one either. Before becoming champion, she had fought to a decision two times under the Strikeforce banner, and she won the championship by, you guessed it, fighting to a decision. I’m not going to pretend like there’s no stigma behind putting a woman on the main card, but the fact of the matter is this: if you’re entertaining enough, Strikeforce will put you on a big Showtime or even CBS card. Strikeforce recognizes entertaining fighters, and up until her recent monster-slam KO over Roxanne Modafferi, Kaufman hasn’t been all that entertaining. If she continues to deliver those kinds of highlight-reel moments, it’s inevitable that she’ll be given a higher place in the company. So, putting it basically, Kaufman gets no sympathy from me because one of her fellow female fighters has already proven that, if you work hard enough and get enough convincing wins on your record, Strikeforce may one day book an entire event around you.

I know I can be criticized for carting out the most obvious example, and for being a raging fanboy, and I’ll admit that both are true. But that doesn’t overshadow the simple fact that Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos is the shining beacon of all that you can achieve as a female Mixed Martial Artist, and the chief reason why Joe Riggs is talking out of his ass. To be bluntly honest, Strikeforce’s 145-pound champion has been so dominant lately that not only do I believe that Women’s MMA as a whole is mostly playing catch-up to her (with several, though few, notable exceptions), I think Cyborg could give a lot of male fighters problems. I even think Cyborg could knock out Joe Riggs. Cristiane Santos isn’t just my favorite female fighter, she’s one of my favorite MMA fighters period. I love how Riggs adopts this macho attitude about people being here to see the men fight, when time after time Santos steals the show in almost every fight she’s been in. And that’s just not my opinion- ask around any major website, and those that don’t outright frown on women’s MMA are more than happy to admit that the females tend to steal the show more often than not.

So not only does Joe Riggs not have any idea what he’s talking about, he’s probably also bitter that a woman is one of Strikeforce’s most notable attractions, while Riggs has been downgraded to the B-show after losing a Unanimous Decision to Jay Hieron. Sarah Kaufman may end up getting her wish if she’s able to chain together a few dominant wins, but in all honesty, I’d like to make a suggestion to Joe Riggs: get comfortable being on a Challengers show. Because I have a feeling that you’ll wind up there more often than not.

And what about you, fans and friends? Do you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with “Diesel”, and why?