Watch: Dana White reflects on the impact of women in the UFC on International Women's day
Dana White recently admitted that he was blown away by the ability women are bringing to the Octagon.
UFC on BT Sports uploaded footage of an interview on Twitter where Dana White spoke about the impact of women in the UFC. White accepted that the UFC's women athletes are some of the biggest stars in the sport, putting up some of the most commendable performances. Also shedding light on the upcoming fights in the women's divisions, White told Caroline Pearce:
"Our division are stacked. There’s fights this year…Weili Zhang vs Rose Namajunas is one of the most anticipated fights this year. The fight of the year, last year was Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Weili Zhang. Then if Weili Zhang beats Rose (Namajunas) everybody wants to see Weili Zhang vs (Valentina) Shevchenko. (Valentina) Shevchenko vs (Jessica) Andrade is a highly anticipated fight. I mean, it’s just…The women have completely solidified themselves as some of the biggest stars in the sport and some of the most exciting and anticipated fights."
Zhang Weili has agreed to put her strawweight title up for grabs against Rose Namajunas at UFC 261. Zhang Weili is currently riding a six-fight win streak inside the Octagon, which includes her epic title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248.
Rose Namajunas, meanwhile, will look to establish a winning streak after bouncing back against Jessica Andrade at UFC 251. Valentina Shevchenko is scheduled to defend her flyweight title against Andrade in the main event at UFC 261.
Dana White has changed his decision to 'never' allow women in the UFC
Dana White had said back in 2011 that he would not allow women to fight in the UFC. When a TMZ Sports reporter caught up with White and asked him about a prospective date for seeing women fighters in the UFC, White sharply replied, "Never."
Dana White later had to eat back his words as Ronda Rousey emerged as one of the biggest stars at his disposal. Clarifying his stance later, Dana White told Hashtag Sports:
“Because they’re good. Because they’re really good. One of the things you have to remember—I completely own up to saying women would never fight in the octagon—but like I told you guys earlier, you’ve got to remember at this time, I was trying to get people to accept the men fighting in the Octagon. It wasn’t allowed on pay-per-view. It wasn’t allowed on TV."