Long before the UFC produced some of the greatest female fighters of all time, it remained a male-dominated sport. After Ronda Rousey became the first woman to be signed by the UFC, she and Liz Carmouche took part in the first-ever UFC women's fight at UFC 157 on Feb. 23, 2013.
Recently speaking on The Diary Of A CEO, White revealed how Rousey convinced and changed his mind about signing women fighters in a few minutes. White recalled that Rousey approached him at an arena and asked to speak with him for a few minutes. That conversation essentially started the women's division in the UFC and helped create history.
“People wanna talk s**t about Ronda Rousey now. But let me tell you what: Ronda Rousey came to me. I didn't want women in the UFC, right? And the reasoning is, I was trying to sell men to networks and sponsors, and they were like, ‘This is too, ugh, whatever, women?'
Article Continues Below“Ronda Rousey grabbed me at an event, said, ‘Hey, I'm Ronda Rousey. Can I get 15 minutes with you?' We went into my room at the arena and, I don't know, minutes into the conversation, I'm like, ‘Holy s**t. I think I'm going to do this,' and she's the one to do it with, you know? And she came in with the whole f***ing bravado. You want to talk about a chip on your shoulder? I mean, she had it. You know, so many people now want to hate on her. She is a f***ing unicorn,” White finished.
From having her first UFC fight in 2013 to becoming the first-ever UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and a UFC Hall of Famer, Rousey has done it all. A former Olympian, she is also a former WWE wrestler. Earlier this year, Rousey made her MMA return against Gina Carano and retired following the fight.