UFC president Dana White once said, "Women will never fight in the UFC," and while the fight for gender equality in pro sports is far from over, Ronda Rousey's induction into the UFC Hall of Fame this upcoming weekend is very important to the cause. Fans may not be aware that Ronda and Dana are actually good friends, so when she decided to turn her back on a sport she helped market to millions, her UFC boss stood behind her 100%.
Nowadays Ronda Rousey is a wildly popular wrestler on WWE programming, fighting under her "Rowdy" Rousey moniker. In October it will be 10 years to the month, when Rousey made her debut in the promotion, the very first Women's bout in the UFC. Rousey defended her Bantamweight title 6 consecutive times, always in dramatic fashion. Her penchant for all-action fights ended up getting the best of her in the twilight of her MMA career in bouts against Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. Mind you, she is regarded as a pioneer, and largely credited with pushing the sport into the mainstream.
Rousey will join Matt Serra, Kazushi Sakuraba, Maurice Smith, Don Frye, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Bas Rutten, Pat Miletich, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, and Royce Gracie in the UFC Hall of Fame pioneer wing. The ceremony begins tonight at 10pm Eastern Time.
