Smith vs. Cyborg fight made in a Koala park

UFC bantamweight Leslie Smith had just beaten RinNakai at UFC Fight Night 85 in Australia, and was relaxing with her boyfriend by viewing the wombats, Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, and the platypus ?at Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. There she ran into UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby, who mentioned that the UFC was looking for a fight for Cris Cyborg.

Smith, who has fought at 125, 135, and 45, told Shelby she had sparred with Cyborg in the gym before, and that she did pretty well.

Well, would you want the fight? Shelby asked.

She would.

Man, this is the kind of opponent that I dream about, said Smith to Steven Marrocco for MMAjunkie. This is the whole reason someone gets into martial arts, so they can find someone who’s the best in the world, challenge them and then come out on top. That’s the reason I’m doing this.

‘Cyborg’ is beatable. She’s super beatable. She’s not a machine. She’s a person, and any person that walks into a cage, there’s a way to beat them. And that’s going to be my job for the next six weeks, to figure out the gameplan to beat her.

These aren’t digs at all. It’s just saying there are openings for everybody. I’m going to find the openings.

There has been chatter on social networks that Smith is going to be an easy fight for Cyborg, a Christian fed to lions. 

If they want to come at me like that, they can just stay at home on their couch and keep writing whatever the heck it is they want to write while eating their potato chips,” said Smith. “I’m over here busting my ass to make this the most impressive fight. Shoot, this is going to be ‘Fight of the Night.’ This is going to be the most exciting women’s fight of the decade.

You’re damn right I begged.

Leslie Smith fights Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino at UFC 198 on May 14, 2016 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.