Dana White is the president of the UFC and he is, by definition, a fight promoter. And while appearing on Jim Rome's show on Wednesday to promote UFC 187, White was doing what he does best.
White and Rome were discussing the topics du jour on the show when Ronda Rousey's name came up. The promotion, to no fault of its own, has been unable to find suitable competition for Rousey during her historic tear. However, one name that has consistently been linked to ?Rowdy? ever since her UFC debut is Cristiane ?Cyborg? Justino.
Justino famously sent former women?s MMA star Gina Carano into retirement in 2009. She is widely regarded as the best female fighter not named Ronda Rousey, and she has been on an endless campaign in her attempt to secure a match with the 28-year-old UFC champ.
Both White and Rousey want the fight. Currently, Justino is signed to the all-women?s promotion, Invicta, with the UFC footing the bill. It is assumed that if Justino can make the bantamweight limit 135 pounds (she has fought the majority of her career at 145 pounds), then the fight will most assuredly happen.
And when it does, Dana White ? ever the promoter ? claims it will be massive.
Like, biggest MMA event of all-time massive.
?I?ll tell you this, Jim,? White said, ?when that fight happens, I guarantee you that thing does over two million pay-per-view buys. It will be massive.?
Rome quickly asked what everyone else was thinking at that moment: Seriously, two million?
?Yeah, definitely. Definitely.?
Even for a charismatic promoter who has been known to dance with hyperbole, the statement comes as a bit of a shock.
The biggest pay-per-view the UFC has ever done was UFC 100 in 2009. The card featured MMA superstars Georges St-Pierre and Brock Lesnar defending their respective titles, along with a feature bout between popular stars Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. That anniversary card was stacked with the biggest names the company had to offer, and it came during the MMA ?boom? years of 2006-2010.
The show did a reported 1.6 million PPV buys.
So, White proclaiming a championship bout between two women would be the biggest fight in the history of the sport is quite the stretch. For one, Rousey is so dominant that her opponents have a hard time making it out of the first round. And Cyborg is a far cry from being considered a household name. Then again, as White tells it, there has never been an athlete as polarizing, with the willingness and ability to sell a fight, as Rousey.
?The more rich and famous she becomes, the easier she is to work with,? White said. ?[And] It?s always the other way around. I can?t explain it.
?She?s laser-focused on her career and what she wants to do. None of these guys wanna do PR?she?ll do any PR you ask her to do. She?ll even do PR to try and help someone else?s fight.
He continued, ?She turns nothing down. And she always says, 'I?ll fight on a week?s notice if they call me' ? and she means it. She?s the greatest athlete I?ve ever worked with. Period. I wish I had 10 Ronda Rouseys.?
Rousey can be seen this summer in the Hollywood blockbusters ?Fast 7? and ?Entourage.? Her new book ?My Fight/Your Fight? hit shelves last week to critical acclaim. And in a few short months, Rousey will defend her title against Brazilian Bethe Correia on Aug. 1 in Rio de Janeiro at UFC 190.
She is, without a doubt, one of the biggest stars in the sport. But two million PPV buys, big?
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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