“Whoop every guy’s ass”- Dana White believes female fighters are a source of inspiration for young girls
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Dana White (at the back) awards Amanda Nunes with her 135 and 145 pound belts
In 2011, Dana White owed the brutal nature of MMA to women’s omission from the UFC. 11 years later, that statement stands moot.
No one could have really predicted how exciting women’s MMA could become – much of that credit goes to one talisman by the name of Ronda Rousey. She became the first woman to be signed by the UFC, in 2012, and was automatically promoted to championship status in the women’s bantamweight division. Her successful defence against Liz Carmouche ignited the saga of women’s fighting in the UFC.
Although women had been taking part in MMA, the catalyst for their inclusion was the biggest promotion of the sport involving them as well.
Since, their association with the sport has come far. Although the roster is not packed with female fighters, fight fans usually enjoy multiple women’s fights on a UFC PPV, or a lot of the times, on the main card as well.
This has gone a long way to empower women. In a sport which can be considered brutish, the inclusion of women reduces the chasm between the sexes. Dana White believes that the inclusion has helped, saying, “I think it’s very empowering for women to see women that are that badass and for little girls, especially, to see what’s possible.”
Continuing, he said, “Back when I was growing up, little girls didn’t fight. They fight now. Let me tell you what? We got women in the UFC that would whoop every guy’s ass in this room. That’s a fact. Men would have never thought that possible back in the day. Believe me, it’s possible.”
A short glimpse into the competitive landscape for women in the UFC
While fight fans may have taken a little bit of adjusting to women fighting on PPV cards, it is all but ingrained into them now. Although it’s only been ten years, not seeing women fight on the main card gives an odd feeling.
Although their roster might not be as dense as the men’s divisions, there is no dearth of talent. There are four divisions for women in the UFC – namely, strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight.
The strawweight division is especially competitive, with the belt circulating amongst the best fighters in the last couple of years. To name a few, Rose Namajunas, Weili Zhang and the now retired Joanna Jędrzejczyk are the most notable champions of the last years. The current champion is Carla Esparza, who defends her belt against Weili Zhang next month, at UFC 281.
Also Read- “Microphones put extra pressure”- Valentina Shevchenko blames ‘corner coverage’ for Rose Namajunas’ poor performance at UFC 274
The champions of the flyweight, bantamweight and featherweight divisions are Valentina Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes (The “Lioness” is champion at both 135 and 145 pounds). Despite Amanda Nunes’ dominance, it cannot be said that there isn’t competition to take her on. A year back at UFC 269, Julianna Pena shocked the world by submitting the greatest women’s MMA fighter ever.
In exactly a decade, women have made a mark on the sport, and made it their home as well. Apart from the UFC, champions from other divisions, like Kayla Harris of PFL continue to dominate MMA journalists’ accounts. It will be interesting to see how much further their involvement grows in this decade.
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)