Why Cris Cyborg waited to call out Ronda Rousey
Cris Cyborg: “Talking about [Ronda Rousey] is not something…it’s something people are going to talk about, but I let my fans decide who my opponent will be and I just be ready.”
Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg’s contract is with the UFC. The idea was Cyborg would drop weight over a few fights, and then have a superfight with the then seemonlgy invincible Ronda Rousey. The two have verbally sparred for years.
When Cyborg made her UFC debut at a catchweight, defeating Leslie Smith, many expected her to call out Rousey. She didn’t, and at the UFC 198 post-fight press conference, Cyborg explained why.
“I believe that it was my moment, tonight was my moment and it was historic,” said in Cyborg, as transcribed by Chuck Mindenhall for MMA Fighting. “I never thought I’d be sitting here tonight. So take a lot of pictures. I never thought I’d be here after everything that I went through. It was a historic moment for me. Talking about [Rousey] is not something…it’s something people are going to talk about, but I let my fans decide who my opponent will be and I just be ready.”
Who ever the opponent is, it will not be a 135.
“I’ve been training for two years to be able to make weight yesterday, and I felt very well tonight,” said Cyborg. “And I believe I can do other superfights. But I’m going to continue in my weight class. I’ve been champion for some time, and I want female MMA to grow, and I don’t think it’s the right thing for me to abandon my weight class.”
Five hours later, Cyborg couldn’t resist.
“Hey Ronda Rousey you running all the way to New York?” she wrote, adding the slights “#dontbescaredhomie #CHAMPIONvsEXChampion #ufc205.”
UFC 205 will be held on November 12, 2016 at Madison Square Garden. It will represented the league’s triumphant, long, long, long-awaited return to New York. Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg at a catchweight would be a huge fight. It is, sadly, extraordinarily unlikely to happen.