Bellator’s First Women’s Tournament

Aside from the brutal weight cut, which Gurgel detailed earlier this year, the striker found herself with little time to train anything heading into the tournament aside from takedown and jiu-jitsu defence and ways to get back to her feet. The lack of time left her feeling unprepared for the level of opposition that she was about to face.

“There wasn’t enough time to get ready for world-class opponents who had been training for years on the ground and standing up,” Gurgel says. “I had only been training for two or three years, tops, and just in Muay Thai. I wasn’t a true mixed martial artist then. I was still just a striker, and not only that, I hadn’t even been training in striking for that long. Muay Thai was still pretty new to me.”

Gurgel went on to win three decisions in the Bellator tournament to become the promotion’s first female champion, but the close nature of her final two fights – both razor-thin Split Decisions – drew the ire of many fans who felt that Gurgel’s opponents had deserved to win. Suddenly, her dominant victory over Sexton, as well as a convincing decision over the previously unbeaten Jessica Penne in the tournament quarterfinals, was forgotten. As well, fans had no idea that Gurgel’s toughest battle in the tournament was simply in making 115 pounds.

“Everyone that I fought last year was a veteran and had years’ of experience over me in the sport,” Gurgel says. “The Jessica Aguilar [semi-final] fight was the worst weight cut that I’ve ever had. My body shot right back up to 145 and trying to get back down to 115 was just so hard. I spent so much time on the treadmill just trying to get back down in weight. It showed in that fight. I moved slow and I was just out of it. That fight was super close, which is why I have no problem with fighting her again.”

Despite capturing the Bellator title, Gurgel suddenly found herself facing a wave of negative backlash from fans, and well as criticism from media who dismissed her wins as “robberies.” Some fans even blamed Gurgel for the judging decisions.

“I got a lot of negative feedback from that fight and from the Megumi Fujii [tournament final], but people just had no clue what it took for me to get there or what I’d been through,” Gurgel notes. “Not only that, but who these girls were. My opponents were all finishers. Megumi had finished everyone but two or three. Not only did she not finish me, but I made it the entire five rounds.

“I also scored a lot of good points,” she adds. “I even rocked her a few times. Who else has done that? People don’t see that. They just hear what the commentators say or read what others write, and a lot of bad light has been shone on me. A lot of people just hate me. I have so many people who don’t like me for no particular reason.”

Gurgel credits husband Jorge for steering her away from negativity and keeping her focused on her future and what lies ahead. Having a strong team of supporters around her has also been beneficial.

“Being here, being around my husband has taught me a lot. He’s always constantly in my head about how there’s nothing that I can do about those people who are being negative. As long as they’re talking, it’s doing good things for you and you just have to stay completely positive and stay away from all of that negative energy. I have so many people who dislike me, but there have also been a lot of people who have been pushing me and inspiring me along the way because I’m inspiring them,” she says. “That helps out tremendously to receive positive energy, so I am thankful for them.”

A New Passion

Gurgel’s priorities now lie in proving that she belongs among MMA’s elite and that her performances in last year’s tournament were far short of what she is capable of. With just over two years’ of experience in the sport, Gurgel feels that she is still nowhere near her full potential. She welcomes rematches with both Aguilar and Fujii, and also feels that a second fight with former foe Miesha Tate will take place somewhere down the line. While she and Tate now get along, Gurgel feels that Tate would also benefit from the rematch, given Gurgel’s recent success.

In her first appearance after the Bellator tournament, Gurgel made her return to action earlier this year and defeated Karina Hallinan for the second time. However, she suffered a fractured hand that resulted in a lengthy medical suspension and prevented her from training for MMA. A new love emerged, in the form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“I’ve really fallen in love with jiu-jitsu,” Gurgel says, and excitement is clearly evident in her voice. “As an athlete, I’ve always been explosive and agile because I’ve grown up around sports. Ever since I turned to wrestling and jiu-jitsu, I’ve just fallen in love with both. Now things have changed. I’m going to these grappling tournaments and I’m doing well. I’m winning golds. I’m getting really excited about it because now I can say that I’m a mixed martial arts fighter and not just a striker.”

Gurgel has attended three grappling tournaments so far in 2011 and has won four medals in Gi and No-Gi competition. She has even performed well against male opposition and earned two submission victories over men at an event in her native Ohio.

“I was just amazed at how well I did against the men,” she says. “I don’t care what anybody says, we’re just totally different creatures. Men are always going to be faster and stronger, but to be able to do so well in the men’s tournament, it was just like, ‘Wow, I can actually do something with this.'”

Gurgel won three gold medals at a recent event in Atlanta, Georgia and has booked a busy schedule of grappling competitions over the next few months. Among them are Grapplers Quest and IBJJF events that span from Las Vegas to Chicago to Boston. For now, striking has taken a backseat.

“I’m still trying to train striking once or twice a week, but right now it’s full-force [in grappling],” Gurgel says. “I’m starting wrestling camp this coming week and I’m excited to do that, but other than that I’m just doing Gi and No-Gi jiu-jitsu. My professor is a black belt and he and everyone else sees me and they’re like, ‘Wow, you’re moving along so fast,’ and it’s nice because they think that I’m doing a lot better. I feel that I am and I’m just really excited about it because I’m entering these competitions and I’m able to show that I’m progressing.”

Gurgel looks forward to returning to the World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships next year, either as a white or blue belt, and speaks glowingly of the passionate and knowledgeable fans who attended this year. With her hand now healed and medical suspension expiring in September, Gurgel is targeting October for a return to Bellator.

Sponsorships, Hard Work and Future

Despite her Bellator title belt and recent successes in grappling, Gurgel struggles with an issue that plagues most female fighters today. A distinct lack of sponsorship opportunities makes it difficult to compete full-time. Gurgel is giving it her best shot, and credits her husband for supporting her every step of the way.

“It’s pretty impossible to work at a job and stay at the level in MMA that I’m at, so I’ve been working very hard to find sponsors but it is very difficult,” she says. “I had figured that if I worked hard and pushed my way to the top that everything would pretty much be handed to me. That’s normally how it works, and you saw even with the WEC that none of the champions there had to work at full-time jobs.

“I had just hoped that things would get easier then, and that was pretty much what I was promised by certain people along the way, but it just didn’t work out like that and I’m not getting the kind of sponsor support that I hoped that I would. I am getting little things here and there, which are helping, but it’s nowhere near what I feel that I and other female fighters should be getting.”

Gurgel is aware that she is one of the more fortunate female athletes in MMA. She holds a prestigious title, fights for a promotion with an MTV2 television deal – though her March fight with Hallinan was untelevised – and is one of the higher-paid females. She knows that it is even more difficult for other women looking to break into the sport.

“I really just don’t understand why [there aren’t more sponsors],” she says. “Women’s mixed martial arts is blowing up and people should be jumping on that, but not only that, most female fighters aren’t bad looking and we’re marketable. Most of us speak well, and I’m getting better at that now, and we can do great things for the sport and for products that we’re representing. I’m hoping that the [new Strikeforce] sponsor tax does help fighters in Bellator. With Bellator having MTV2, I’m hoping that this will help out with the sponsorship thing as well.”

As we enter the second half of 2011, Gurgel hopes to change opinions about her and her career, and also hopes that her success can open doors for others.

“I’m not working my ass off every single day, day-in and day-out, to not make a stand in this sport. I’m doing this not just for me, but for women’s mixed martial arts. There’s a lot of people out there who want to see it and we’re not going anywhere. As much as people want to cite Dana White saying that women will never be in the UFC, for as much as he doesn’t like it, it’s always going to be here. There are plenty of other promotions that are going to show it and it’s making money. It’s probably not making as much money as he’d like, but people enjoy seeing something different.

“I’m a professional athlete and I train like one every single day. Just like these NBA and NFL players who get paid millions and millions of dollars. We don’t touch any of that at all. We’re not even close to that, but we work just as hard. I’ve never worked harder in any other sport in my life.”

Gurgel’s aspirations may be lofty, but contentious tournament judging aside, she accomplished more in her first 21 months in mixed martial arts than many other fighters have managed to achieve in their entire careers. And at 27 years of age, she has many years ahead of her in the sport.

“I have this Bellator belt, but a lot of people still don’t consider me the best or ranked at the top, so this year I want to go out and prove it. I look at Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre, and now Jon Jones, and I want to be like them someday. I want to be right up there among the best in the world.”