Dana admits opening a new weight class in the UFC after falling in love with an athlete on the 'Contender Series'

Dana White is president of the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/UFC

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Ten years after the implementation of the strawweight (up to 52,1 kg) during the 20th edition of 'The Ultimate Fighter', which crowned Carla esparza As the inaugural champion, the UFC may soon welcome another weight class. At least that's what the organization's president, Dana White, said after being enchanted by a young talent during the latest edition of the 'Contender Series', last Tuesday (15).

The only athlete to win her fight and not be hired in the last episode of the program, the 20-year-old Argentine Julieta Martinez heard several compliments from Dana White and the explanation for not having received a contract with the organization despite her triumph over Leslie Hernandez.

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“Julieta, I can’t tell you how much we love you. There’s no doubt that you’re incredibly talented, but you’re so young. You’re a baby, you just turned 20, and you’re small for the division. You’ve come here and shown that you’re incredibly talented, you have a future in the sport, and I love that.” Dominick Cruz is in your corner. We will keep you at the Performance Institute in Mexico and let you do some fights there. We love you and we want you in the UFC, but we believe we would be doing a disservice if we signed you now,” the president justified.

In a press conference held after the episode, Dana White once again explained the fact that he had not hired Julieta, but admitted to implementing the atomweight division (up to 47,6 kg) to include talents coming mainly from South America and Asia.

“She’s small for the division. She’s talented, but I don’t want to see her come to the UFC and get hurt. She’s too young. You don’t reach your peak until you’re 28, and she just turned 20. That’s another thing. When you start talking about South America, Asia, whether it’s China, Japan or Korea, as we continue to cultivate talent in those places, we might need to create a new division. Yes, it would be atomweight,” he concluded.