White responds to Cyborg comments

Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino is contracted with the UFC, which hopes to in time match her with Ronda Rousey. During a recent appearance on FOX Sports 1’s Speak for Yourself, she argued that if she had blonde hair and blue eyes, the UFC would push her more, maybe start a UFC division at 145.

“I think about when I fought Gina Carano, if she won this fight, I think of course the UFC would already have my division – 145,” said Cyborg, as transcribed by Damon Martin for FOX Sports. “People are like ‘why [do they] not have your division?’ Maybe because I don’t have blonde hair and blue eyes. I don’t know. Because if I’m American and everything I did for the sport, I’d already have my division.”

“Because if I’m American and everything I did for the sport, I’d already have my division. But I don’t feel sorry, I’ll just try to do 140 and make amazing fights for my fans. I’m in the UFC now because my fans want to see me there and because I love my job.”

UFC president Dana White appeared on the same show and answered the comments.

“Let me ask you a question: what makes somebody a star?” said White as transcribed by MMA Fighting. “What has been done with Ronda that hasn’t been done with Cyborg, as far as being a star? Ronda is a world champion, had the belt and everything else. We don’t have a belt in that division. We don’t have that weight division for Cyborg … because there aren’t enough good women at 145 pounds to create an entire division.”

“I actually run the business, I actually know what’s going on. She can say it’s B.S. [that there aren’t enough women]. I actually know.”

“Ronda Rousey makes a lot of money. She gets a lot of attention. She’s doing movies. She has all kinds of other sponsorship deals and all these other things outside of the Octagon too. And listen, other people look at them and say, ‘hey, I should have that too. Why do I not have that too?’ And of course, that’s my fault. You know what I mean? That’s my fault because it’s not happening.

“But the reality is this: Cris Cyborg is devastatingly good. She’s been destroying everybody right now. Her popularity is actually starting to go [up]. She’s getting bigger. Everybody wants it right here, right now. It doesn’t happen that way. I promise you this, Ronda has to come in and fight on December 30th. Okay? Ronda has to win, and the girl that she’s fighting is no pushover. She’s nasty and tough and Ronda’s got a fight on her hands there.

“She wins that fight, her and Cris Cyborg are eventually going to fight. Ronda wants that fight. It will be the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history.”

“We’ll see what happens. This thing’s got to play out first and we’ll see what happens.”