Who was the Mike Tyson of UFC? Dana White says it was Ronda Rousey, not Conor McGregor

UFC president Dana White believes former women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was the Mike Tyson of the company.

White took part in the debut episode of Tyson's podcast called "Bite The Mic" and was asked which fighter had a similar impact on the sport reminiscent of "Iron Mike."

While most would have guessed names such as Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva, White decided to go with Rousey instead.

"Our Tyson was Ronda (Rousey), man," White said on Mike Tyson's podcast "Bite The Mic", as quoted on MMAJunkie. "Ronda had this aura of invincibility that we've never seen before."

"That's why everyone was calling Ronda our Mike Tyson because she was the most dominant athlete on the planet."

Rousey (12-2 record in MMA) was a pioneer for women's mixed martial arts as it was her who convinced White to introduce women's divisions in the UFC back in 2013, with him previously stating that it would never happen.

As "Rowdy" continued her undefeated streak, she soon became a mainstream star as her quick and dominant wins gained her fame and a place in popular culture as she started to draw more fans into the UFC.

However, two back-to-back losses that saw her lose her title to Holly Holm and then fail in regaining it from Amanda Nunes has all but ended her career, with White being doubtful of a return to the octagon.

What is interesting, however, is that the 30-year-old recently teased major news on her official website, with some speculating that it could be a UFC return, having not fought since December 2016.

As for White's reasoning as to why McGregor was not considered as the Tyson of the UFC, he claims the Irishman is completely different due to his trash-talking style and ability to predict when he will finish an opponent — both of which are similar qualities to Muhammad Ali.

"Conor (McGregor) is different," White added. "Conor is completely different than a Tyson – his verbal game, his picking the round."