OCTOBER 24, 2012 – “Never say never..” is a phrase often uttered in sports and couldn’t hold truer than it does today when it comes to eventually seeing Women’s MMA taking place in the UFC octagon.
UFC President Dana White let the cat out of the bag in talking to SI about the possibility of seeing female fight action in the Octagon yesterday, saying “It’s absolutely going to happen…. [It] could happen tomorrow, it could happen a year from now…. The point is I’m committed to this.”
That’s quite the about-face for the UFC’s highly-visible front-man.
Despite the women’s division being ever-present in fellow Zuffa-owned MMA promotion Strikeforce, White has long stated that the UFC just wasn’t the place for it –due to depth of competition and other concerns.
When it comes to what’s changed his perception of the sport, the primary driver may be the performance of Judo Olympian turned MMA star “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey – currently the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion after starting her mixed martial arts career off at 6-0.
“I absolutely would bring her into the UFC,” he’s been quoted as saying about Ronda, quick to say she might possess the necessary combination of skill, charisma, and bona fide star power to put women’s MMA on the map for good.
As with all things UFC, If they were to make an introduction of this magnitude they’d want to do it with a bang.
Perhaps there would be no bigger way to introduce Women’s MMA to the UFC masses than a “superfight” between Rousey and exiled star Cris “Cyborg” Justino, who is eligible to apply for reinstatement with the CSAC after a one-year suspension for the use of n performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)..
Similar to boxing stars Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the two female stars have verbally sparred in the media with neither wanting to back down from their demands regarding a potential bout between the two. For these two champions it’s a matter of what weight they meet at amongst other issues but then again, money can change a lot of things.
While there’s no timetable set for a potential bout between the two female champions, or the introduction of a UFC female division for that matter, we wouldn’t be surprised it happened sooner rather than later – and maybe even here in Texas as part of a supercard featuring another marquee matchup that could break records at Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys Stadium come early next year.
Only time will tell but we’ll keep you updated here at TXMMA.com if and when the time comes.