Ronda Rousey reveals promise she made to Dana White before he broke strict protocol to sign her to the UFC

Ronda Rousey has revealed the promise she made to Dana White after he went against his own word to sign her to the UFC.

In 2011, White gave a bullish answer when asked about the prospect of women competing inside the famed Octagon.

The UFC boss replied: "Never."

However, a year later, he would change his mind following the emergence of Rousey, who shone under the Strikeforce banner.

In 2012, White announced that Rousey had become the first female fighter to sign with the UFC, declaring her as the UFC women's bantamweight champion.

'Rowdy' enjoyed a glittering and record-breaking career in the UFC as she made an impressive eight defences of her championship before running into Holly Holm.

She beat the likes of Miesha Tate, Sara McMann, Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia, among others.

Rousey would often fight back-to-back, having fought McCann just a few months after beating Tate in a rare move for a UFC superstar.

But she fought frequently because of a promise she made to White.

Dana White and Ronda Rousey at a red carpet event. Image: Getty

The UFC legend promised White that she would always make herself available if they needed her to headline an event.

Speaking to Steven Bartlett (@Steven on Instagram and TikTok) on The Diary of a CEO podcast, she said: "I was fighting that frequently because that's how often Dana calls and I told him that.

"'If you sign me, I'll be there to fight whenever you need me'... and I never said no."

On the promise she made with White, Rousey added: "I would do whatever was best for the company because that is what I promised. That was the deal I made when I came in. I felt like I owed it to Dana... I promised him I'd be there anytime they needed me, and I was."

Unfortunately for Rousey, her dominant reign ended abruptly when she suffered a crushing defeat to Holm at UFC 193.

She then lost to Amanda Nunes before calling time on her illustrious MMA career.