Dana White is one of the most prominent figures in the world of mixed martial arts. The UFC president has lifted MMA as a sport into the mainstream. Dana recently appeared in the Triggered podcast hosted by Donald Trump Jr. In the hour-long podcast, they discussed a variety of topics, including the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou fight and upcoming UFC events.
During this discussion, when Dana White was asked about the potential rising stars in the UFC, he specifically named three UFC fighters. The first name dropped by the UFC president was Khamzat Chimaev. “If you look right now at what’s going on with Khamzat Chimaev, this guy is turning into a massive star,” Furthermore, the undefeated fighter is coming off a huge victory over Kamaru Usman.
The second fighter he talked about was the undefeated welterweight, Shavkat Rakhmonov. “We got a kid named Shavkat Rakhmonov, who is a bad dude,” said Dana. The UFC president is very hopeful about Rakhmonov’s future. He will be competing against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 296.
Lastly, he talked about the most surprising addition to the list, Erin Blanchfield. She is definitely next in line to fight for the women’s flyweight championship. Dana White called Blanchfield’s style “exciting“. Furthermore, this discussion about the rising stars led to the topic of women’s MMA.
Ready to Defend my title. @Sanabul pic.twitter.com/obEqATeFKc
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) October 26, 2023
Many fans were surprised that Dana did not mention the current Bantamweight Champion, Sean’O’Malley, in his top 3 list. ‘Suga Sean’ had a terrific year with a TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling, and his exclusion from the list is very surprising.
Dana White addresses the current state of women’s MMA
When Dana White was asked about the current state of women’s MMA, he gave a very positive response. According to Dana, the new bunch of female fighters are very technical compared to the early days of the UFC. When Donald Trump Jr. said that women’s MMA is not a novelty anymore, Dana agreed and said a few good words about the female fighters.
“Weili Zhang is one of the baddest human beings on the planet,” said Dana White. Furthermore, he name-drops modern-day women’s MMA fighters like Mackenzie Dern and Maycee Barber. “A whole group of women now that are coming up are fun to watch and super talented,” said the UFC president.
It is interesting to see Dana White talking so highly about women’s MMA because, at one point, he stated that women would never fight in the UFC. However, it looks like his feelings on that matter have drastically changed. What do you think about Dana White’s top 3 list? Let us know in the comments below.