Cristiane Justino has some personal reasons to take on Amanda Nunes at UFC 232.
The UFC women’s featherweight champion has further motivation to win her upcoming super-fight against bantamweight titleholder, Amanda Nunes. In a recent interview, Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino told news website Fansided that she considers her opponent to be a traitor of her team and wishes to teach her respect when they meet in December.
In Cyborg’s opinion, Nunes betrayed her country when she moved her camp to American Top Team and started saying she represents them and not Brazil anymore.
“Creonte’ is a Brazilian word that means traitor,” Justino told FanSided. “I think it’s embarrassing that the UFC made Amanda the first female Brazilian champion and instead of representing Brazil when she fights, she calls herself American Top Team. She disrespects Brazilian MMA fans every time she walks into the cage as a part of American Top Team.”
Furthermore, since Amanda now hails from the same camp as former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, who also said disrespectful things about Brazil back when he was scheduled to take on Rafael dos Anjos, just adds insult to injury.
“This is the same gym as Colby Covington,” Cyborg said. ” He disrespected Brazil so badly that the UFC was worried they didn’t have enough security to keep him safe and had to move his fight against [Rafael dos Anjos] to the USA instead of Brazil.”
“Yet Nunes goes into the gym every day to train alongside Colby Covington and even shares the same coaches. Where I’m from in Brazil this would never happen. Imagine Chael Sonnen walking into Chute Boxe and training with Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, or any of the coaches. Do you think they would have let him train after all the things he said about Brazil? No. They would have defended Brazil’s honor. Amanda doesn’t have that same respect for Brazil.”
Now, in a personal quest against Amanda, Cyborg wishes to teach her opponent a lesson about respect, as she puts it.
“When she called me out last year at first I didn’t want to fight her,” she said. “I wanted to see all the women divisions run by the Brazilians. Myself, Amanda, [Jessica] Andrade, we could have all been champions and I thought it would bring pride back to all of Brazil. But Nunes is from a Team of Creontes. At American Top Team it is normal for teammates to fight each other. She called me out last year but then wanted a year before we can fight. When I fight her Dec. 29 it will be for everyone in Brazil, and it will be to teach Nunes a lesson about respect.”
Cristiane Justino is expected to meet Amanda Nunes at UFC 232, on December 29, in Las Vegas, Nevada.