Dana White on All Access: Rousey likeliest 1st woman in the UFC
Last night Showtime aired part 1 of a two-episode “All Access” series on Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronday Rousey. Part…
Last night Showtime aired part 1 of a two-episode “All Access” series on Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronday Rousey. Part two airs next Wednesday, again at 9:30 PM ET.
Part 1 appears in its entirety at bottom.
UFC President Dana White was among the figures appearing in the episode, and he sees a possible future for Rousey in the UFC.
“In the next 10 years, if there’s a woman in the octagon, it’s probably going to be Ronda Rousey,” White said during the show.
In fact, White, who shot down any prospects of female fighters competing in the UFC as recently as a few years ago, said the current class of female fighters has forced him to take a different mindset. Specifically, Rousey’s March title win over then-champ Miesha Tate was the most eye-opening.
“There have been great fighters before Ronda Rousey,” White said. “Gina Carano is beautiful. Cris ‘Cyborg’ (Santos) is incredibly talented and goes in and wrecks people.
“But what changed me and what I think changed a lot of people about women’s MMA was Tate vs. Rousey. That was a fight worthy of a men’s fight: two incredibly talented women who are very well-rounded, and it doesn’t hurt when they’re beautiful too.”