PFL’s Kaitlin Young Talks ‘Curious’ Situation of Women in MMA

Former Invicta FC featherweight title challenger Kaitlin Young (11-10-1) has recently been announced as part of the Professional Fighters League lone women’s division for the 2021 Season. Young is set to collide with Cindy Dandois on the Professional Fighters League card that will go down on May 6. While talking with Sherdog, “The Striking Viking” detailed her opinion on women's current situation in MMA.

“It’s a curious one,” she said. “Unfortunately, what has happened a lot, is that newer fighters are sometimes more visible than those with more experience. Some of the stuff that’s happening with organizations like the UFC is that they’re focusing on much lighter weight classes. I’m happy for those women, yeah, make that money, you know? Good for them. When you have a fighter with five fights on a card next to male fighters with forty fights, it looks very different, and people sometimes attributed it to gender when it’s not the differences they’re seeing. It’s more of a ‘time and pressure’ kind of thing. I do think that it’s really amazing the PFL has a 155-pound division so that women don’t have to cram themselves down to the lowest weight possible.”

Young also said that matchmakers play a pivotal role in improving the situation of women in MMA. According to Young, people who put fights together should pay more attention to the development of fighters instead of feeding them to the wolves for the sake of fans’ entertainment.

PFL will kick off its 2021 Season in April, featuring fighters from six weight classes competing for a $1 million prize.