Are female MMA fighters allowed in Saudi Arabia? Fans react as two UFC stars get ready to make history

The UFC Saudi Arabia event is set to be headlined by combat sports megastar and MMA icon Israel Adesanya. In addition to the legendary former two-time UFC middleweight champion's much-awaited comeback, the fight card is also being viewed as an important one from a historical perspective.

Saudi Arabia has long maintained an austere approach toward women's participation in sports and miscellaneous activities. However, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud has been credited for significant improvements to women's rights in Saudi Arabia in recent years.

The Saudi Vision 2030 project, including the Riyadh Season venture, is believed to be tremendously bolstering for women's sports.

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Are female MMA fighters allowed in Saudi Arabia?

The PFL MMA organization organized multiple women's MMA fights in Saudi Arabia in 2024. Additionally, the upcoming UFC Saudi Arabia event on Feb. 1 will feature the first female UFC fighters to compete there.

Mayra Bueno Silva will face Jasmine Jasudavicius in a women's flyweight bout. Mayra Bueno Silva's official UFC fight attire was revealed by the Brazilian on Instagram.

Reporter Aaron Bronsteter shared a screenshot of it and suggested that Jasudavicius' attire could be similar.

The UFC's inaugural Saudi card, headlined by Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov in June 2024, featured only male fighters.

Some sports fans have speculated that the female fighters' attires are more modest than when the fighters compete in other countries. Similar observations were made about female WWE superstars competing in Saudi Arabia, wherein the attires are crafted in accordance with Saudi Arabia's laws and religious beliefs.

Many fans reacted to Bueno Silva's reported fight attire. Some X users seemingly expressed their disapproval, despite "Sheetara" also competing in a similar top by choice in her last fight.

The fan wrote:

"This is genuinely ridiculous"

Others underscored that one ought to respect the local culture. One observer posted:

"Not a big concession; respect for local culture is important."

A fan approvingly stated:

"Cool"

Another wrote:

"Kinda cool can't lie"

Some signaled that Saudi Arabia -- which is known to function within the confines of the traditions and tenets of its official religion, Islam -- is changing some of its rules regarding modesty of attires.

Meanwhile, an observer even questioned why female WWE superstars had to perform while sporting a body suit, whereas female MMA fighters seemingly get a more relaxed dress code:

"But the female WWE wrestlers have to be covered in body suits... This makes no sense"

Check out screenshots of a few reactions below:

Screenshots of tweets

Speaking about the UFC Saudi Arabia card, Jasudavicius told the UFC that she'd trained with Bueno Silva at American Top Team three years back.

Alluding that defeating an ex-UFC bantamweight title challenger like the Brazilian would be amazing for her, Canada's Jasudavicius suggested that she jumped at the opportunity to compete in Saudi Arabia:

"She's fought for a title before, so obviously beating her would put me in a different stage, and then once I heard the fight was in Saudi Arabia, I was like, 'Let's just do it!'"