“For me there was no distinction,” he says. “Gender wasn’t involved. She was the better goalie. No one was doing her any favors. The first year I coached her, I had a younger assistant coach. I would tell her, ‘Don’t baby the puck. Shoot as hard as you can now. If she wants to make it, she’s gonna have to be better than the rest of them.’

On Wednesday, Antoinette “Toni” Harris received a scholarship offer to play football for Bethany College, an NAIA program in Kansas. If Harris, a safety for East Los Angeles College, a junior college in California, accepts the offer, she would be believed to be the first female scholarship football player at a position other than kicker in college football history.

“We all know that one submission, one punch, can finish the fight. I’m prepared for that and let’s talk about me moving up after this fight. But definitely, I want to tie Ronda Rousey’s record and break Ronda Rousey’s record. So, definitely, I will still be defending my title in the straw weight division but of course, there is an idea about me moving up.”