Fairly recently, Curtis Blaydes stated that fighters like Paige VanZant and competitor Rachael Ostovich’s “sex appeal” trumped their ability in the sport.
“So you telling me Paige Vanzant and Rachel Osto-whatever actually deserve time on the UFC’s roster for their ‘athletic achievements’ and their not just on cards for their sex appeal?” Blaydes said, according to The Sun.
“Cause if I’m wrong about that then I guess the whole premise of my original statement is wrong and I apologize. But if you’re a legit fan of MMA you couldn’t possibly believe the two females I mentioned are on the roster for anything other than the fact they look good in bikinis.”
Over the weekend, the 26-year-old VanZant fired back by sharing a photo of herself with Ostovich before their January 2019 matchup.
“Good thing we’re so pretty. It’s going to make when we punch each other in the face hurt a lot less….. but that much HOTTER. #prettyANDstrong,” VanZant captioned the shot.
Ostovich jumped in the comments and replied, “Muahahahahahahaha.”
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MMA fighter Pearl Gonzalez, who was also mentioned, also replied, “Facts!! Beauty Queens!!!”
29-year-old Blaydes posted a lengthy Facebook message addressing his thoughts on the matter.
“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,” Blaydes wrote.
“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.”
