WHO RUN THE WORLD? GIRLS!
Headlined by flyweight women’s champion Alexa Grasso and No. 1 contender Valentina Shevchenko, UFC Fight Night 227 was attended by 18,766 raucous fans who were there to celebrate two of the sport’s greatest women fighters in what turned out to be an early candidate for Fight of the Year.
By W.G. Ramirez
LAS VEGAS -- "Girls, we run this mutha!"
Beyoncé's words hit harder than ever in the world of sports right now.
We just watched an intense and competitive FIFA World Cup wind down in August.
We saw Coco Gauff captivate a worldwide audience tuned into the U.S. Open tennis championships.
Athletes Unlimited continues to provide an avenue for women in basketball, softball, volleyball and lacrosse.
The WNBA just enjoyed a record season for viewership and has plenty of new fans as the playoffs make their way through the first season.
And in Las Vegas this past weekend, a packed house of 18,766 was in attendance for UFC Fight Night 227, headlined by a flyweight championship rematch between champion Alexa Grasso and No. 1 contender Valentina Shevchenko in what was an instant classic and now a candidate for Fight of the Year.
Sure, the NFL probably reigns supreme of all sports and college football is already approaching Week 4. Then there's Major League Baseball, which is down to the final two weeks of the regular season before another exhilarating postseason.
No longer in the shadows or having to play second fiddle when it comes to national exposure, however, it's a great time for women athletes.
"I feel like it's an amazing time in women's sports," Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum said. "Just even seeing the growth in my lifetime. I remember my mom played college volleyball, and the same coach for the volleyball team was the coach for the softball team and the soccer team. I've seen how generationally it's come such a long way. It's really cool to be a part of and I feel like specifically in the W it's been brewing and it's going to continue to grow. It's been amazing."
And as Shevchenko pointed out, the words, feelings and emotions of professional women athletes are finally having an impact.
"I think it's very important because now we can speak, and people are listening," Shevchenko said. "But what's most important is we share the right words with the world. We are female fighters, we fight the same way that male fighters do, we train the same way."
Which is the same thing WNBA players have pointed out for many years, that they train, practice and compete the same way their counterparts do in the NBA.
It's not a competition to see which league deserves more, it's a matter of earning the same respect.
"I'm not pretending to be stronger than a man, I'm not pretending that I can beat any man in my weight class," Shevchenko added. "I do martial arts because I love it, because I feel this is my passion. I love to see other girls who (perform) the same way, not because they want to prove something to someone. Because they feel good, and they can do strong things but with a touch of feminine."
SPRINGBOARD
According to a report from Deloitte, "Amid record-breaking attendance and viewership of women’s sports, a new survey ... found that playing competitive sports often helps set women up to have successful careers. The report titled 'Impact of Sports on Women’s Professional Success' revealed that women who played competitive sports in their youth are more likely to be in leadership or management roles."
Enter Paige Herrboldt.
Growing up on a farm in Olivet, South Dakota, Herrboldt didn't get to see a lot of professional women's sports.
She loved athletics, basketball being her passion, and grew up idolizing local high school stars, the college players who did happen to get TV time, and plenty of WNBA players she hoped to pattern her own game after.
Considering Aces coach Becky Hammon came from South Dakota, albeit on the other side of the state, there was no doubt who was atop Herrboldt's list of favorite women athletes.
"I saw myself in her," Herrboldt said. "Small town kid from South Dakota who was just trying to make it as far as she could in the basketball world. I looked forward to watching every game of hers that I could."
But with limited media attention back then, Herrboldt said she was lucky to see a handful of Hammon's games on TV each season.
Fast forward to 2023, it's rare Herrboldt - an Aces season-ticket holder - misses a game, home or away. Within minutes after each victory, Herrboldt is sharing an Aces post from Instagram to her story that is promoting a win or their star of the game.
L: Growing up, Paige Herrboldt idolized fellow South Dakotan Becky Hammon. On her 13th birthday, Nov. 18, 2006, Paige attended the “Becky Hammon School of Skills.”
R: In June of 2023, Paige hoisted Lord’s Stanley Cup as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights’ media relations gameday staff.
PHOTOS courtesy of Paige Herrboldt
But her fandom only scratches the surface, as Herrboldt latched on as a part-time employee within the media relations department for the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.
"Watching them lift the Stanley Cup a few months ago was amazing," said Herrboldt, whose full-time job is handling criminal records for the University Police Department. "But getting to lift the cup myself was something I never dreamed of. Working in professional sports was always the dream and the sole reason I moved to Las Vegas."
And it's the growth of professional women's sports that's continued to fuel Herrboldt's passion for working in that field.
"Although my playing days are long over, I still have my love for the game," Herrboldt said. "Being a season ticket member of the Aces, it’s been amazing watching them thrive behind Becky’s coaching and bring the first major championship to Las Vegas. And the fact that women in all sports are getting more attention is really inspiring and gives someone like me hope - whether you’re an athlete or someone who’s trying to work in a male-dominated industry.
"For me, working in professional sports full time still remains the goal."
Emphasized WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark of the Aces: "A lot of top CEOs in companies are former athletes. Just being able to be in a space where we can help young girls see this can be a tool, this can be a vehicle toward what you want to do next. You can create the life that you want using sports. Hopefully, we're planting enough seeds to where, when the next generation comes through, it'll just grow that much more."
STILL WORK TO DO
And, while the Deloitte report found that 85% of surveyed women who played sports say the skills they developed playing sports were important to success in their professional careers, those making it to the professional level in athletics say there's still plenty of work to do.
"There's not been enough respect for us in the past, and I still think that there needs to be more respect," Australian Aces reserve Cayla George said. "And I still think that there needs to be more footage of us and more times where we're front and center of the media. But I definitely think there's been improvements made, but probably just not enough.
"There definitely needs to be more respect."
It's the attention and exposure from media sources that will inspire young girls into playing sports, which, according to Deloitte, can mean better positions and higher salaries in the workforce.
"The findings are even higher among women in leadership roles (91%) and women who make $100,000 or more (93%)," the report said. "Of female respondents who make $100K+ annually and are in management or leadership roles, 69% have played competitive sports. Regardless of personal experience playing sports, 61% of respondents agree that girls who play sports are likely to have successful careers."
According to respondents to the survey who have played competitive sports, the top skills gained from competitive sports include teamwork (69%) and leadership (41%). Other skills include managing stress and pressure (36%), problem-solving (35%), and effective communication (34%).
Aces starter Kiah Stokes attended UConn, where the media coverage rivals plenty of big-name men's programs. But her first couple of years in the WNBA she felt a drop off in coverage.
Now, just seeing social media and activism, she feels like everyone is talking about women's sports.
"I think that's helped us grow," Stokes said.
And as Herrboldt touched on, Stokes said availability and accessibility to women's sports has helped generate interest. And with little girls tuning in, it stretches beyond watching competition, but soaking up what their idols have to say.
"I think we're really knowledgeable, we as women athletes in general, I think we know what we're talking about," Stokes said. "I think we have great personalities; I think we're funny, I think we're entertaining to watch. So just giving women a platform to showcase their skills and personalities, what they're about whether it's on or off the court, I think it just helps women in general.
"It helps our sport, definitely helps soccer, tennis, UFC. I think it helps everything, just giving voices to people and just letting the world kind of see into our lives, I think it helps tremendously."
Beyoncé's words will be hittin' hard for quite some time.
"Who run the world? Girls!"
