UFC's First Out Fighter Liz Carmouche Gets Support from Organization President

UFC President Dana White has come out in support of Liz Carmouche, who recently became the first openly gay UFC fighter, according to Yahoo Sports. And, she is set to fight in the first UFC women’s bout ever.  Carmouche will take on Ronda Rousey for the UFC women's bantamweight belt.

White’s praise of Carmouche comes three years after he notoriously used a gay slur in a video blog.  Earlier this year, White told Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight that the incident remains his only regret over the course of his career.  He resents his depiction in the media thereafter, saying, “The way I came off in that thing, people still think I'm some kind of homophobe, and I'm not. That still bothers me."

Now, White says he is excited to have an openly gay athlete actively competing in UFC, which is something none of the Big Four American professional sports leagues can say for themselves.  "There's a lot of gay athletes out there,” says White. “It takes a brave person to come out and admit it because they're always afraid of what it’s going to do to their career or how people are going to treat them afterwards.  I love what she did."

Liz Carmouche will take on the undefeated Ronda Rousey on February 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Follow SheWired on Facebook. 

Follow SheWired on Twitter.