They may have been rivals in MMA, but Cris Cyborg wants nothing but the best for Ronda Rousey on the eve of her historic WrestleMania main event.
WrestleMania 35 goes down this Sunday April 7th from the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and this year’s edition has a whole lotta MMA related goodness at the top of the card. Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is putting his WWE Universal Championship on the line against Seth Rollins, and inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey is adding another first to her list of accomplishments with the first ever women’s main event at WrestleMania.
It’s a big night for Rousey, and she’s getting well deserved props from some interesting places. Her former mixed martial arts nemesis Cris Cyborg continues to be a beacon of support and positivity when it comes to Ronda’s foray into pro wresting, even as rumors swirl that “Rowdy” has shut down any possibility of Cris joining the WWE.
TMZ Sports caught up with Cyborg as she returned to America after an extended tour of several African countries, and she confirmed she’d be watching Rousey’s triple threat match with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch.
”Yes I will, I’m going to be very excited,” she said. “They’re doing good. I watched their fight and it had cops at the fight, it looks cool, it looks nice.”
And would she pulling for Rousey to win?
”Yes of course!” Cyborg answered. “She’s a representative for MMA. She’s doing good at it, people are gonna see her and there’s gonna be more people from MMA.”
As for the possibility of Cris getting into pro wrestling herself?
”It’s hard and it’s a different sport, but why not?” she said. “We can train and be good. I think Ronda’s been great. She’s showing that the girls from MMA can do the same thing, so let’s see.”
Cyborg is currently at a bit of a crossroads as her current UFC contract with one fight left expires in March. 2018 saw her complain about the long wait to face Amanda Nunes and tease the possibility of a fight with women’s boxing champ Cecelia Braekhus. But in the past few months she and her agents have made it clear that they’d prefer to stick with the UFC and work out a new contract.
The UFC seems to be on the same page, with Dana White telling the UFC Unfiltered podcast that he wanted to set up a rematch between Cyborg and Nunes after Nunes defends her women’s bantamweight title against Holly Holm at UFC 239 on July 6th. Whether they can come to terms is the big question, and for now Cyborg is once again stuck on the sidelines waiting as other women make history.