UFC fighter Curtis Blaydes has never been one to mince words and now the fighter has taken aim at female MMA competitors.
Blaydes, is a post on Facebook, also featuring his Twitter screen caps, says that many female fighters in the UFC are getting preferential treatment due to their looks:
“I’m a girl dad so lemme make this clear I’m not against female athletes getting publicity and media push and love from fans when it’s deserved and earned thru legitimate hard work and grinding. My issue is why do so many female athletes complain and gripe about being overly sexualized by fans/media but then at the same time many of them are profiting off said sexualization thru media endorsements, high profile placement on fight cards, and overall popularity which leads to many other financial opportunities. I don’t hate hustling either like if that’s how a female wants to pay her bills thru her body which is what many strippers do and i have no problem with either hustle but you can’t live life that way and expect to garner the same type of respect and love that real grinders get. You can’t have your cake and your ice cream pick one, either you’re gonna hustle and make money off your athletic achievements and skill set or you’re gonna hustle and sell bikini pics and forfeit that respect hard work and sweat brings....this is an open table discussion just wanna hear y’all’s honest opinions”
One of the fighters that Blaydes took aim at on social media was former UFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez, which led to them both having the following exchange on Twitter:
A fighter complaining how my looks keep me relevant and that my skills haven’t improved. The fact you are today years old and still can’t speak a full sentence blows my mind.
— PEARL GONZALEZ (@PearlGonzalez) April 30, 2020
I’ve got a SPEECH IMPEDIMENT that’s why my sentences don’t sound as clear as normal ppls, what’s your excuse for your lack of growth in mma ?
— Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) April 30, 2020
So my speech impediment that i inherited from my father is an excuse --. Whatever growth you’ve made as a fighter def didn’t see it that last fight you got UD’ed by a kid in the game so if that’s your growth lord knows how bad you were 5 years ago. You should prolly just stop --
— Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) April 30, 2020
To be 100% honest I wasn’t talking about his speech impediment.. I was talking about the stupid topics he chooses to speak on. We have such a huge platform & to choose to tear down women is so sad.
— PEARL GONZALEZ (@PearlGonzalez) April 30, 2020
We’re both from Chicago... a city full of violence.. somewhere we need to uplift.. I used to shout this man out for being from the same city as me. I used to be a fan. Why not reach out & try to help women instead of criticizing?
— PEARL GONZALEZ (@PearlGonzalez) April 30, 2020
Gonzalez ended the exchange with the following now-deleted tweet (via MMA Junkie):
“You didn’t just shame me.. you shamed all women.”
