UFC President talks Women’s MMA, Strikeforce and the Olympics

Dana White was available for a scrum with the media today in advance of UFC on Fox 4 and the UFC President spoke on a number of subjects including Strikeforce’s Ronda Rousey and her upcoming title fight in September: “I am a huge Rousey fan, I want to go, If I’m in town I will be there.””

While on the subject of Strikeforce, the UFC President confirmed that Josh Barnett might be making his way back to the Octagon, since his loss in Strikeforce to Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier: “Barnett is healing. He was hurt in that fight and when he’s ready we’ll find him a fight.”

Cormier will be fighting former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in a crossover match for that promotion’s final Heavyweight bout. Although Tim Sylvia was rumored to fight Cormier, Mir stepped up and took the fight: “Mir just lost, he’s been fighting for us for 11 years, since we started. The opportunity makes sense and whether he gets smoked or Cormier gets smoked it’s gonna be good stuff. It is going to be a Title fight and even if it’s their last one and the guy (Cormier) has one fight or ten fights, he’s their guy”

When asked if the UFC might absorb the all female fighting leauge, Invicta, White gave the same answer he’s been giving for the past few years: “I think Invicta is a great thing it will get the women training but they have to make money. The more women that fight, the deeper those divisions will get. Is there potential? Absolutely, I don’t focus on it but I love it. (Right now) there’s just not enough good women out there.”

Earlier today a woman, Kayla Harrison, won the first Olympic Gold Medal in the history of the US team. Both Cormier and Rousey were former Olympians. When asked if UFC was doing any scouting at the Games in London, White said: “No, this is not a judo company, if someone wins the Olympics, they have to train their ass off to fight in MMA, but i would love to see some of these Olympians starting to compete.”

As this weekend’s UFC on Fox 4 is going up against the Olympics, White laughed and said jokingly: “I didn’t think people still watched the Olympics. What a lot of people don’t realize is that you are always going up against something in this business whther it is TV or Pay-Per-View. Another sport, a movie, anything that gets the attention of 18-34 year old males.”