Ronda Rousey has captured the heart of Dana White. Publicity photo.
It wasn’t long ago that Dana White didn’t even want to hear about women fighting in the UFC. But from the look of it, the UFC top dog’s heart is warming to the idea.
In an interview kicking off a series of shows about the Strikeforce bombshell on Showtime channel, White spares no praise: “She’s got everything you need as a fighter. And what’s more, she’s a woman and she’s beautiful. The Ronda Rousey set is different from anything else I’ve seen. I’m never going to miss a fight with Ronda Rousey. I’m a Ronda Rousey fan.”
At another point in the show, White, though stopping short at offering a prediction as to when he’ll be promoting female fights, didn’t completely deny the possibility. “In the next ten years, if there’s a woman in the UFC octagon, it’ll probably be Ronda Rousey. We’ve had excellent female fighters before Ronda Rousey. Gina Carano is beautiful. Cris Cyborg is unbelievably talented; she beats people up. But what changed my and I think changed a lot of people’s thinking about female MMA was Tate vs. Rousey. That was like a fight between two men. Two unbelievably talented women who are really well rounded, and the fact that they’re pretty doesn’t hurt either.”
Check out the first episode from the All Access: Ronda Rousey series:
