Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann will once again have to wait to make her professional mixed martial arts debut. The wrestling standout had been scheduled to face late replacement Monique Henry for Caribbean Gladiators on Sunday in Jamaica, but the entire card was scrapped at the last minute due to safety issues with the cage that was to be used for the event.
McMann has had numerous fights fall through in her short MMA career as potential opponents repeatedly turn down fights with her. She is 2-0 as an amateur and is already one of the top prospects in the women’s division.
McMann won a silver medal in women’s wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece; a feat never before achieved by an American female wrestler. Her success came with a price, however, as McMann has persevered through the loss of both her brother, Jason, and former fiancé Steven Blackford within the last 12 years. Now a mother, McMann changed her focus from wrestling to mixed martial arts earlier this year following a controversial scoring incident in a U.S. Open wrestling match.
Opting to begin her MMA career as an amateur, much like fellow Olympic medallist Ronda Rousey, McMann defeated Jasmine Reid by way of TKO in the first round on June 11th of this year. She followed that up with a Unanimous Decision win over Rachel “The Rage” Dovidio on July 31st. However, McMann then encountered an obstacle that hinders many female fighters in the sport today: she could not get a fight. Potential opponents repeatedly backed out of planned fights with McMann, some on short notice, leaving the Olympian frustrated.
Intending to make her pro debut in October, McMann was once again faced with a fight cancellation due to an opponent experiencing cold feet just over a week prior to the event. Another planned fight for the Caribbean Gladiators card this past Sunday also fell through, but the promotion managed to secure a last-minute replacement to face McMann. Her opponent was to be a kickboxer named Monique Henry. Unfortunately, after fighters flew into Jamaica to compete, the entire card was scrapped due to what was reportedly an “unsafe cage.”
Besides McMann and Rousey, a third Olympic medallist, Randi Miller, has also encountered a rocky road since entering MMA. Miller had planned to make her pro MMA debut against Jewels star Hiroko Yamanaka on the Shoot Boxing Girls S-Cup card on August 29th, but withdrew after reportedly suffering an injury. Later reports suggested that Miller may have withdrawn from the fight due to feelings that she was not yet ready to compete as a professional.
The Olympic trio, along with unbeaten Muay Thai champion Germaine de Randamie (1-1-0 MMA), are four of the most highly-regarded female fighters to transition to MMA in recent years. All four athletes are likely to make a significant impact on the women’s division in the future; if they can get fights.
Tori Adams is missing from your write up, just watched her destroy Tuff n uff champ.