Rousey made Dana White backtrack on his word after ‘shattering ceiling’ in UFC

UFC star Kayla Harrison provided a timely reminder of how Ronda Rousey forced Dana White to walk back on one of his most controversial claims.

Rousey played one of, if not the biggest role in opening doors for women into the UFC.

She defended her bantamweight title six times and went on to headline UFC 193 in front of over 56,000 fans, the first time two women were the main act on a pay-per-view.

However, stoppage defeats to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes fast-tracked her exit from the UFC in 2016.

Despite the way her UFC career ended, Rousey deservedly earned a spot in the company’s Hall of Fame in July 2018.

Yet none of her impressive UFC feats would have happened had White stuck to his now-infamous comments in 2011.

In a video posted by TMZ, White was asked when a female would fight in the UFC, to which he responded: “Never, never.”

One does not need to be an expert to know White’s claim did not come to fruition as the likes of Rousey, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko to name four went on to become major stars.

Harrison, who enjoyed a winning debut at UFC 300 after nearly six years competing in PFL, paid tribute to Rousey’s contribution to the sport, even if she left on the back of two brutal defeats.

“I think for me, no matter who Ronda is as a person and no matter what she says or thinks or how she does things or how she handles losses, how she handles any of it, no matter what, you cannot deny the fact that she shattered a ceiling for women,” Harrison told MMA Fighting.

“Dana White went on record multiple times saying that he would never have women in the UFC. She f****** blasted right through that.

“To me, that’s her legacy. No matter what she says or what she does, of course humans are going to be humans, people deal with things the way they deal with things but she paved the way when there was no way. That I am eternally grateful.”

Harrison isn’t the only one who has commented on Rousey’s pioneering role for women’s MMA.

White referenced it when he named his UFC Mount Rushmore, picking the former bantamweight champion alongside Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Conor McGregor.

“You have to go with Ronda Rousey,” White told ESPN.

“Women would not be fighting in the UFC if it wasn’t for her.”

Fellow Hall of Famer and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping gave Rousey an ‘honourable mention’ when he named his Mt Rushmore of fighters.