Dana White Banned Ronda Rousey and Other Women From Fighting in UFC for Years Because of One Horrific Incident

While the UFC boasts some of the most talented female mixed martial artists on its roster, there was a time when Dana White kept the UFC’s door closed to female fighters. All that changed, thanks to the phenomenal Ronda Rousey. The Olympic medal-winning Judoka played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for female athletes in the UFC.

The former Strikeforce and maiden female UFC champion penned down the ups and downs of her life in her memoir ‘My Fight/Your Fight.’

UFC President Dana White wrote the foreword of the book, where he explained why he was adamant about not having female fighters in the UFC.

Dana White on why he didn’t want female athletes in the UFC

In the foreword, White recollected an interview he gave ‘TMZ’ in 2011 in Las Vegas. When they asked him about when women would compete in the UFC, he said, “Never.”

White explained what held him back from having female athletes compete in the UFC for a long time. The UFC president wrote he had no problem with women competing in combat sports. However, he was hesitant to allow it in the UFC because of an incident he witnessed in person in Northern California.

He wrote, “There was this woman who fought just like a guy, and she was in the ring with someone who looked like she took five Tae Bo classes.”

Speaking of the fight, he wrote, “It was one of the worst one-sided beatings I had ever seen, and I just didn’t want to see that in the UFC.”

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However, all that changed after Ronda Rousey made her UFC debut in 2013. ‘Rowdy’ became the first ever UFC women’s champion when she won the bantamweight title. Although she retired after two consecutive title fight defeats, she still has a reputable MMA record.

She laid the foundation for female competitors in the UFC. Even to this day, Rousey and White maintain a great relationship and the UFC boss recently spoke about it.

What White said about his relationship with Ronda Rousey

During a recent appearance on Paddy Pimblett‘s podcast, Dana White spoke more about his relationship with Rousey. The 53-year-old said that Rousey was one of the fighters with whom he had a great friendship.

The UFC head honcho told Paddy Pimblett how Rousey still stayed in touch with him over texts. White also mentioned how she was still grateful to him for all the fortunes she made from her UFC career.

“She still, to this day, sends me texts. Like her home she has in Hawaii, you know, she got a home in Southern California. She built some crazy… zombie apocalypse ranch in Oregon or something like that. She got all these different places and she will still send me texts and say that ‘It’s all because of you and thank you so much for believing in me and giving me the platform to change my life.'”

White added Rousey was one of the all-time greatest athletes that he had ever worked with.

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What are your thoughts on White’s reason for keeping female athletes outside the UFC? Should he have formed women’s divisions sooner? And what do you think about Ronda Rousey’s influence in changing his mind? Let us know in the comments below.