Once upon a time Ronda Rousey was the most pulverizing force in mixed martial arts (MMA), as she sat atop the combat sports mountain with an undefeated professional record of 12-0 and nearly all her victories coming by way of dominant fashion.
The only woman thought to give ‘Rowdy’ a run for her money inside the Octagon was longtime Strikeforce and Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino, a woman who possesses some of the most devastating power we have ever seen in women’s MMA today.
A super-fight matchup between the two iconic MMA stars was long discussed, however, Rousey refused to meet Justino at a catchweight for a potential bout as she did not want to fight outside of her championship weight of 135 pounds.
Rousey would go on to suffer the first defeat of her career against highly decorated kickboxing champion Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, and in quite dramatic fashion, when Holm absolutely overwhelmed the now-former bantamweight queen with her superior striking ability.
Following the loss Rousey would enter a great state of depression, admitting to thoughts of suicide and leaving her future inside the Octagon in great question in the eyes of many MMA fans across the world.
Rousey has not seen the inside of a UFC Octagon since being dismantled by ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’, and since then ‘Cyborg’ has made her presence felt for the first time under a UFC banner as she defeated Leslie Smith in just over a minute of her debut bout with the promotion at UFC 198 in her home country of Brazil.
‘Cyborg’ has been lobbying hard for a shot at Rousey since her upset title loss, and most recently took to her Facebook page to issue quite the lengthy challenge to the former 135-pound champ:
“Why didn’t you give the Olympic Gold another attempt? How come you haven’t asked to rematch that girl who KO’d you?
Are you dieting right? Do you really think you deserve a title shot coming off a loss and year layoff?
These little inconsistencies in your quest for perfection start pecking away at the image you’ve been able to create through the media.
Perfect never leaves room for improvement, especially when you are too focused on yourself to see what life is really like outside of your “exclusive” Entourage.”
Justino stated that Rousey was a ‘bully’ leading up to her fight with Holm, and that when ‘Cyborg’ first moved to the United States, ‘Rousey’ took shots at her through the media knowing she did not then know how to speak English:
“When we worry about marketing an image created by the media, our bigger goals are sacrificed. You can’t look up, because your face is in a pillow after being the bully and getting your ass kicked.
Being humble enough to not believe the hype around you can be difficult.
When I was growing up in Curitiba Brazil, before I moved to California, I was a simple girl who trained at the world’s toughest gym.
I spent hours inside the gym and would train all day because I loved to punch, elbow, kick, knee, and fight. Nothing got in the way of that.
When I moved to Cali, I was a complete outsider. I couldn’t speak English, and you used that opportunity to bully me in the media.
At the lowest point of my career you went out of your way to say the most hurtful and mean things you could, but no matter how hard you tried, my confidence wouldn’t sink.”
In 2012 it was announced that Justino had tested positive for a banned substance following her successful title defense against Hiroko Yamanaka, and was thus stripped of her Strikeforce title and the win was ruled a No Contest.
‘Cyborg’ noted that following the incident she believed her world would end, but instead she sharpened her tools in the gym and would eventually make her long-awaited UFC debut years later:
“I am not perfect, and I know that.
That’s when I realized you didn’t really want to fight me.
When you want to fight someone, you fight them. Suddenly the “best female fighter the world had ever seen” was afraid to move up to 140lbs– to make a champion vs champion fight. That was a fast and effect lesson in her lack of confidence.
Not every move I have made has been perfect. I lost my first world title due to a failed PED test and that experience was difficult. I thought the world would end, but it didn’t. I continued to grow and mature as a woman.
I stayed in the gym, served my suspension, learned my lesson and returned to the cage. I improved my skills and continued to get better.
I also signed up for USADA a year before making my UFC Debut. I finally got a chance to fight in the Octagon. Everyone has noticed.”
While Justino insists she is not trying to get ‘Rowdy’ to change her ways and become ‘a better person’, but instead the Brazilian wants her to prove herself as the best female fighter that ‘the media made her out to be’.
‘Cyborg’ would end her lengthy post with a bit of a jab at Rousey, stating that she is the No. 1-ranked combatant in ESPN’s WMMA pound-for-pound rankings:
“When I see little girls rocking their DNB shirts and reebok shoes in the supermarket, I think about what poor examples of sportsmanship you have displayed.
I think about you cursing The Preacher’s Daughter at the weigh ins, refusing to shake Miesha Tate’s hand following your victory, and all of the mean things you have said about me and my family.
I hope you come back and get this ‘redemption’ people think you deserve. I am now in the UFC and you will not be able to use that excuse to avoid a fight with me. Your record is no longer perfect, and we have all seen your flaws, you can not take a shot–
I’m not trying to inspire you to suddenly become a better person, or become anything you’re not. But there was a time in your life when you told people you wanted to fight me.
Maybe you didn’t quite understand the way the wold worked then, but you also didn’t care what anyone thought
I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that you don’t need to be the champ to fight me. Your flaws–your unsuccessful attempts at greatness or even mediocrity– are real.
The media made you out to be the greatest female fighter of all time, and that is beautiful, because now everyone knows the real reason why you avoided a fight against Cris Cyborg. P4P #1 in the World for WMMA according to ESPN.”
Do you think we’ll ever see Rousey in a UFC Octagon again? And would a matchup against ‘Cyborg’ be a possibility for the former 135-pound champ?
You can check out Justino’s full post here.
The post Cris Cyborg: Everyone Knows Why Ronda Rousey Avoided Me appeared first on LowKick MMA.