Gina Carano was one of the first women’s stars in MMA. ‘Conviction‘ grinned her way through the Muay Thai ranks to make a name for herself in mixed martial arts as well. Chiefly, at a time when there was little to no support for women’s fighting.
UFC President Dana White was one of those people who didn’t get the hang of women’s fighting in MMA straight away. But he wasn’t the only one; According to a story that the former EliteXC and Strikeforce athlete shared with UFC announcer Joe Rogan, Nick Diaz didn’t like women competing in MMA.
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On Joe Rogan’s famed podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, ‘Conviction’ and the UFC analyst talked about Carano’s initial MMA career, her new movie with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, and her struggles during her rise in the MMA ranks among many topics.
While talking about people disparaging women’s fighting in the early days, Carano said, “Even let’s say the Diaz boys. Like, I remember fighting on the same cards as Nick Diaz. He was sitting next to me and of course, I was nervous because I absolutely adored him. Still do; I think he’s amazing.”
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“We’re sitting there before our fight, having our you know post-weigh-in dinner, and he was like ‘you know I got to tell you I don’t really like women fighting’… He’s like, ‘I don’t like what you do. I don’t like women fighting,” the 40-year-old said.
Even White had shared a similar sentiment earlier. However, these days, Dana White can’t stop praising women’s fighters, who once infamously said ‘never’ when asked when could the fight fans see women in the UFC.
Gina Carano called Nick Diaz ‘old-fashioned’
‘Conviction’ then revealed Nick Diaz‘s hilarious and admirable gesture and said, “I was like, that’s okay. You know, maybe you’re just a little old-fashioned. And I was like, you think my dad likes this or anybody in my family likes me fighting?”
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The 40-year-old revealed how the elder Diaz brother reacted to it.
“He was like ‘no, old-fashioned, okay? So, I’m just old-fashioned.’ I’m like, ‘yeah, you might be a little old-fashioned,” said Carano and revealed Nick Diaz was ‘just so sweet’ after that.
Joe Rogan seemingly enjoyed Carano describing the incident.
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