Marion Reneau made her promotional debut and picked up her first UFC victory this past weekend at UFC 182. She also received an apology from her boss.
Reneau (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) scored a decision victory over Alexis Dufresne (5-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who missed weight for the bantamweight bout and was forced to compete in a 138-pound catchweight matchup. The preliminary-card fight, which streamed on UFC Fight Pass from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, was so throughly dominant that Reneau received winning scores of 30-26, 30-26, 30-25.
Although prelim winners rarely are invited to post-event press conferences, there was Reneau, whom White soon addressed.
“She looked awesome, and I have to publicly apologize to her,” White said after Saturday’s pay-per-view event. “She tried out for ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and I told her she was too old. So I was wrong again.”
The UFC recently hosted two seasons of “TUF” with female cast members. The first, with 135-pounders, competed on “TUF 18? in 2013 as part of the show’s first coed season. The second, “TUF 20,” was the first all-female season and concluded in December, when the UFC crowned its inaugural 115-pound champion, Carla Esparza.
Reneau never got a chance to compete on the show, but the 37-year-old suggested it didn’t feel like a real snub.
“Too old? Whatever. Basically, I was told, ‘Go out, win a couple of fights, and keep pressing on,'” she said. “That’s basically what I did. I had to show them that I earned my spot here.”
Prior to UFC 182, she won three straight fights, all via stoppage. That earned her a UFC contract, which she’s made the most of.
“I did what it took to get me to this point, and I don’t think age is a factor, especially with me,” she said. “I’ve been an athlete all my life. It’s never been a struggle for me. I’ve never stopped training.
“So it was very important for me to fight the way I wanted and finish how I wanted to finish – and that’s with my hand raised.”
For more on UFC 182, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
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