A female MMA fighter who took part in an intergender fight in Poland has confirmed that she is OK after footage of the bout left fans of the sport horrified.
On 29th October, Ula Siekacz competed against Piotr Lisowski in a fight that lasted just two rounds via a referee stoppage after she was pinned to the floor in a pound and ground, a staple manoeuver in Mixed Martial Arts.
Footage of the fight went viral on social media with many fans calling the fact that the fight was even sanctioned both “horrific” and “absurd” with others fearing for Siekacz’s well being.
Fortunately, Siekacz has confirmed that she was OK after the fight and but will not be competing against any other men any time soon.
In a video that she shared on her Instagram from an interview filmed on Sunday, she said: “I am very dissatisfied, it didn’t work out as I wanted [...] I am disappointed in myself. Unfortunately for now I still have those negative emotions.”
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She also admitted that she was surprised that the referee stopped the fight. “I got more hits before and I could withstand those so I think the third round could easily happen [...] so I have a lot of regret for the referee that he stopped it,” Siekacz added.
More tellingly in the caption of the post, she admitted that she knew what she was getting herself into but won’t be fighting men again. ““Hi guys, I’m back alive and we keep going. I’m not gonna get slapped by a guy anymore. I consciously took up this fight - I knew what I was signing up for.”
She added that she was “waiting for some interesting suggestions and I will continue to develop” and “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Next adventure and new experience.”
Another intergender bout took place on the same card on Friday between Wiktoria Domżalska and MichaÅ PrzybyÅowicz, which also ended with a win for the male fighter, within just 60 seconds of the fight beginning.
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— Matysek (@Matysek88) October 29, 2021
The widespread outrage from the MMA community to this prompted the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation to issue a statement condemning the fights.
It read: “It is unacceptable that women and men should compete against each other in combat sports, essentially for reasons of safety but also fair play, and we in no way endorse this.”