Gina Carano expressed discontent with one of the massive sports media houses excluding her from their list featuring the 21st-century pioneers of women's MMA. Carano also highlighted Dana White's disappointment at the same to justify her disgust.
White has appreciated Carano's dedication to fighting on multiple occasions. The 55-year-old appeared in an episode of The Pete and Sebastian Show in May 2024, where he lauded the MMA Fighter-turned-Disney actress's decision to pursue a professional career in MMA despite coming from a massively wealthy family.
The renowned sports media house that excluded Carano from their list is ESPN MMA, a branch of ESPN, which previously claimed itself as the "Worldwide Leader in Sports". A recent X update from ESPN MMA's official account provided the link to their list of 21st-century women MMA fighters who "shattered" stereotypes and took women's MMA to all-new heights.
The linked report named 10 stars whom ESPN MMA viewed as the 21st-century pioneers of women's MMA. It featured several legitimate choices, including the likes of Amanda Nunes, Ronda Rousey, Zhang Weili, and others. However, the authorities elected to leave Carano out despite featuring the name of someone like Megumi Fujii in it.
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One of Carano's recent X updates showcased her disgust at ESPN MMA's list. 'Conviction's' words also highlighted how White had the same feelings after witnessing the list:
"You think @espnmma: Do not have qualified journalists who know real WMMA history, or are they trying re-write history by keepin me out of it? Even Dana @danawhite called them out. 😂🙏"
The 42-year-old also stated:
"No, they will not be re-writing my history. If anything they’re writing themselves into mine.. When I get through this, I think jaws will drop. Thank you everyone for the support."
A plethora of MMA fans joined Gina Carano and Dana White to diss ESPN MMA for this list
The aforementioned X update from Gina Carano also showcased Dana White's exact words about the aforementioned list from ESPN MMA. However, White chose to cast his opinion on the same post on ESPN MMA's Instagram account. The UFC boss penned:
"@ginajcarano not being on the list is INSANE"
![Dana White's reaction [Screenshot courtesy: @espnmma on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/cb70a-17432947548773-1920.jpg 1920w)
A significant chunk of MMA fans who witnessed ESPN MMA's X update followed White and Carano's path to diss them in the comments section. A few such comments read:
"Not including @ginacarano is why EVERYONE HATES YOU ALL"
"We all know why @ginacarano wasn’t on here and you’re pathetic for it."
"Leaving Gina off this list because of politics is the most b*tch made move ever"
Check out some more comments:
![Fan reactions [Screenshots courtesy: @espnmma on X]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/1f10c-17432953918538-1920.jpg 1920w)