Dana White reveals intentions to add 115-pound women’s division to UFC roster

The women’s “experiment” must be going well, at least in the eyes of Dana White, as the UFC president recently announced his intention to add a 115-pound women’s division to the company roster.

White announced the company’s intentions on Friday’s new edition of “The Fighter & The Kid” podcast, which features UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub and Bryan Callen as hosts.

“We’re actually working on bringing in another division for the women, which I said wouldn’t happen for a long time,” White said.

When pressed as to whether it would be at 125 pounds or 145 pounds, the UFC boss clarified it would actually be set at 115 pounds. White did not announce when the first fight in the new class would take place or when the company would begin signing fighters for the division.

The UFC, of course, held its first women’s fight earlier this year as Ronda Rousey defeated Liz Carmouche to defend the first-ever women’s bantamweight (135-pound) title, which she was awarded when she transferred to the company from Strikeforce.. The women’s division has quickly become a staple of UFC fight cards, and Rousey and fellow former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate are currently featured as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 18.”

White said the “TUF 18? ratings are a perfect illustration of the rising popularity of women in the sport.

“The thing that’s really cool about … there’s a lot of other women’s sports that people don’t care about and people don’t follow,” White said. “On ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ right now that’s airing, the women are outrating the men. When the women fight, the ratings are up 44 percent.”

Less than two years after stating women would “never” fight in the UFC, the company will soon have two different weightclasses for the ladies.

“I never in a million years thought it would take off the way it has,” White said.

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