The Doggy Bag: ‘They Said What?!’ Edition

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Is Ronda Rousey dominating all of the women she faces a bad thing for the sport? I think so. Hell, I am about ready to cancel Showtime because Strikeforce has nothing to offer me. I am curious about Luke Rockhold and Gilbert Melendez. That's it. I can just stream those events or go to the bar. No reason to keep the show in my lineup. Time for Zuffa and Showtime to kill Strikeforce. I’m over it. -- Wade from North Dakota

TJ De Santis, Sherdog Radio Network program director: This is a question that I have been pondering since Rousey framed up the armbar on Sarah Kaufman 15 seconds into their bout. I will always watch Rousey fight live. Maybe it's because I am paid to do so, but, I am also personally obsessed with perfect. I watched Fedor Emelianenko rise to prominence and hold that mantle for years until he lost to Fabricio Werdum. I currently sit back and soak up everything and anything Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre do. Rousey deserves that same respect.

I asked Pat Miletich the same question on "Beatdown" this week, and he said he didn't think that Rousey's perfection was a detriment to the sport. He likened her performances to that of Mike Tyson. I agree with Pat that people should sit back and watch Rousey do what she does with awe. She smashes the opposition put in front of her. I am inclined to believe her skills, not necessarily the competition around her, have helped her make it look easy. I think Rousey defeats most everyone at 135 pounds, but there are fighters like Sara McMann and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos that one cannot simply mark off as wins for her. McMann has some growing to do as a mixed martial artist and "Cyborg" has some issues of her own that she has to address before we can hypothesize about either fight, though.

I fear that casual fans and even some hardcore fans aren't going to make it a point to watch Rousey compete. Who really is next inside of Strikeforce? Liz Carmouche? A rematch with Miesha Tate? Neither excites me, nor will anyone currently under contract that is able to compete. The silver lining is that Rousey is a growing star and fun to watch. She has skills that, at this moment, are unmatched.

I love women's MMA. I drove hundreds of miles to watch Roxanne Modafferi fight Jennifer Howe, and Kelly Kobold nearly put my lights out during a boxing session. That said, Rousey is, in my opinion, making other women in the sport look mediocre, just like Jones and Silva on the men's side. However, if Rousey wants to get the "Cyborg" fight that could truly put her on top of the sport, she might have to compromise her beliefs and agree upon a catchweight contest, since Santos seems adamant about not moving to 135.

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