I’m the boss of the UFC and I made a huge mistake in 2011 when I ruled out women ever fighting inside the octagon

DANA WHITE admits he made a huge mistake when he emphatically ruled out the prospect of women ever fighting in the UFC.

It may seem crazy given the elite and world-class female combatants in the UFC, but it wasn’t that long ago when women weren’t competing in mixed martial arts’ top promotion.

UFC

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In fact, it’s only a little over 11 years since the MMA leader staged its first-ever fight between females at UFC 157 in February 2013.

That fight, of course, was the historic showdown between former long-reigning bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche.

The turning point in the history of MMA came a mere two years after White said women would “NEVER” compete inside the octagon.

But 13 years removed from that statement and after a slew of iconic female fights, White admits women “needed to” enter the promotion.

Recalling Rousey’s historic fight with Carmouche in TNT Sports’ The Rise and Rise of the UFC documentary , he said: “Once we were in that arena and she walked out.,

“Sold-out [arena] and the place just erupted when she walked out, I was like, ‘Yeah, this needed to be done.'”

Eleven years after Rousey vs Carmouche, the UFC now has three weight classes and a pound-for-pound rankings for women.

And some of the sport’s most beloved fighters – including the likes of Zhang Weili and Valentina Shevchenko – are women.

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The impact females entering the UFC has had on the growth of women’s MMA can’t be understated, as well as the global phenomenon Rousey was when she was at the peak of his powers.

White and the rest of the UFC brass deserve immense credit for investing the same amount of time, money and respect into women’s MMA as they have done with men’s.

But White, self-admittedly believes he was somewhat shortsighted not to recognise how they could elevate the sport and the organisation to new heights.

When reminded of his comments by ESPN: “What an idiot that guy was.”

‘The Rise and Rise of the UFC’ premiers on discovery+ on the 7 ^th September and TNT Sports 1 at 10.30pm on 14 ^th September. Sign up to TNT Sports and discovery+ here

Reuters