Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane Justino isn’t surprised UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey won’t receive any sanctions for calling her an “it” last week.
Of course, that doesn’t mean “Cyborg” is going to take the insult lying down.
The Brazilian slugger addressed the situation with MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz last night:
“I’m not surprised (she wasn’t punished) because she’s UFC’s paper champion,” she said. “They obviously would never punish her, even because her opponents are handpicked … I always admired Dana White as a great businessman that always believed in MMA and helped our sport to grow around the world. And I’m sure that, with the power he has, he would never go against his paper champion.”
UFC President Dana White defended Rousey‘s comments by saying it was no worse than Cyborg calling her a chicken, later mocking Justino’s muscular physique by calling her a dead ringer for Wanderlei Silva, per MMA Junkie.
Rousey currently boasts a perfect 9-0 record inside the cage (all finishes) and is slated to take on Alexis Davis at UFC 175 in July.
The matchup came as a bit of a shock, as the “Rowdy” one was rumored to be squaring off against Justino, Gina Carano, Holly Holm or Cat Zingano in her next title defense.
Obviously, the UFC decided to go in another direction, and it’s tough to argue Davis wasn’t knocking on the door for a title shot after winning five fights in a row.
Justino is expected to defend her Invicta title this summer, insisting that she is ready to make the cut to bantamweight if the UFC will give her the opportunity to fight Rousey.
Will all the trash talking between Rousey and Justino ever amount to a grudge match inside the Octagon or is this women’s superfight simply not meant to be?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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