Can a female fighter beat a male fighter?
The debate, which has been raging for ages, came to a high point in 2015 when former UFC champ Ronda Rousey and retired boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr. engaged in lengthy verbal warfare, challenging each other. Before that, Ronda Rousey claimed that she could beat then-Heavyweight UFC champion Cain Velasquez, “under the right circumstances.” UFC commentator Joe Rogan, who at the time was pretty vocal about the issue of Rousey being able to beat professional male fighters, stated that she could beat up half of the UFC’s male bantamweight roster. In retrospect, those statements sound less plausible. And it was all talk.
Very, very few times has an international class female combat sports athlete faced an experienced male competitor. But it has happened.
Woman Fights A Man: Muay Thai
Lucia Rijker from Holland competed in kickboxing from 1982 to 1994, going 37-0-1. The draw was in her second fight. From 1996-2004, “Lady Tyson” competed in professional boxing, going a perfect 17-0.
And once, on October 15, 1994, she fought a man, Somchai Jaidee (13-1-0, with 9 KOs) under Muay Thai rules. Jaidee was only a kilogram heavier, and won the bout in Round 2, after a spirited first round.
The great Lawrence Kenshin breaks down the bout below.
There have been female vs male combat sports bouts where the female won, but the men have typically not been international class. Some “fans” have crowed that this bout proves women can’t beat men. In fact, what it proved that Lucia Rijker is game. And it did not prove that no woman can beat a man.
Amanda Nunes would destroy the average male, as would a prime Rijker. It’s like the old boxing saying, “A good big man will usually beat a good little man.” This does not mean that good little men are bad. It just means size and strength matter a lot in combat sports; and the strength differential between men and women tends to be more extreme the better the men get.
Rojker Outside The Ring
In addition to her in-ring exploits, Rijker has also enjoyed success in film and television. She appeared in the Oscar-winning, female boxer-based film Million Dollar Baby (2004) as Billie “The Blue Bear.” Other roles include a Romulan Communications Officer in Star Trek (2009), Sgt. Maria Hoyos in JAG (2004), a coach in Rollerball (2002), and hosted the Dutch adaptation of Jamie’s Dream School in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
She currently works as a motivational speaker and trainer, even working with Ronda Rousey for a time.