The MMA Mount Rushmore list seems to be doing the rounds on social media at the moment. Fans and fighters alike are revealing their GOAT fighters and now even Dana White has joined the discussion. In a recent interview with ESPN, he revealed his greatest fighters of all time, which included former UFC women’s champion and Olympics medalist, Ronda Rousey.
The UFC president named Ronda Rousey on the list alongside Georges St- Pierre, Jon Jones, and Conor McGregor.
And then he went on to justify including her name on the list.
“You have to go with Ronda Rousey. Women would not be fighting in the UFC if it wasn’t for her.”
Dana White’s UFC Mount Rushmore:
Jon Jones
Ronda Rousey
Georges St-Pierre
Conor McGregor pic.twitter.com/d1qxN7CJXr— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) September 9, 2024
Rousey did revolutionize women’s MMA and was the one who initially took the UFC to the next level before Conor McGregor came and blew the roof off.
But White claiming women wouldn’t be fighting in the UFC if it wasn’t for her is a bit weird since women have been practicing mixed martial arts since the days of Joan of Arc. So if Rousey is who convinced the UFC to hire more women, then that just seems like UFC was the one with the problem.
Now coming back to White’s defense of Rousey, during the company’s it’s initial stages, Rousey was as big of a draw as McGregor, if not, bigger. She had become the public face of the company with the UFC gold on her shoulders and her face on late night shows like Conan O’Brian.
However, there is also a cost to such greatness and fame. According to the UFC president, both McGregor and Rousey had a similar downfall.
White compares McGregor’s downfall to Rousey
Dana White has seen first hand, two of his biggest PPV draws go from the best fighters in the world, to lacking the motivation to do anything.
After a point in the sport, where you achieve everything you’ve wanted and are living comfortably, it gets hard to find the fire in your belly. And according to White, that’s what happened to both Rousey and ‘The Notorious,
“The Conor thing is much like Ronda. If you look Ronda, so many opportunities fell on Ronda….ended up being her downfall, right? It’s just the money and everything else….Conor McGregor is ten times that.”
Dana White compares Ronda Rousey’s downfall to Conor McGregor pic.twitter.com/HlHUk1W9Zt
— calfkicker (@calfkickercom) July 19, 2024
The UFC president spoke about how earning that much money from the sport, makes it tough for fighters like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey to keep up their level of dedication.
This would explain why the UFC still pays a majority of its fighters absolute peanuts while they get brain injuries from the sport.
MMA is a rough sport and has seen quick transformation in the last 10 years or so, with more specialized coaches, training and fighters coming in. The competition as such is also tougher with each new generation of fighters, as is the case with almost all sports.
But with MMA, if you get found out, it’s generally by being absolutely banged up by your opponent inside the octagon and that’s what happened to both Rousey and McGregor.
