The structure of a female UFC fighter’s face doesn’t appear to predict her performance — which isn’t the case for male fighters.
“A growing body of literature suggests that the human face is a reliable indicator of various physiological, psychological, and behavioral characteristics in men and women,” the researchers explained in their study, which was lead by Jaime L. Palmer-Hague of Trinity Western University.
Facial-width-to-height ratio (fWHR), the distance between the cheekbones divided by upper facial height, appears to be one such indicator. Research has linked greater fWHRs to aggressive behaviors in men, and at least two studies have found that fWHR is associated with performance among professional male fighters.
But the new study of 54 female fighters associated with Ultimate Fight Championship, which was published in Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, suggests the relationship between fWHR and fighting ability only exists among men.
The researchers examined the female fighters facial width-to-height ratio, body mass index, and fight statistics. They found that the women’s BMI predicted the number of fights she participated in, her number of wins, and the proportion of wins to losses. But fWHR failed to emerge as a statistically significant predictor.
“In sum, we show here that in a sample of female UFC fighters, body size, but not fWHR, is a reliable indicator of fighting ability and may be an accurate cue to formidability in this population,” they concluded.
However, the researchers noted that they may have failed to find a relationship between fWHR and fighting ability in women because of the study’s relatively small sample size. In addition, research suggests that fWHR is a testosterone-linked trait, and differences in fWHR among women may be more difficult to detect because they are smaller in magnitude.
“Additional research with women’s faces is clearly needed,” the researchers said.
