Morning Report: Dana White says Cris Cyborg is ‘irrelevant,’ Rousey fight at 140 ‘makes no sense’

Last weekend former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos requested a release from her Zuffa contract, and now it appears that her wish has been granted.
Fielding questions from reporters following UFC o…

008_dana_white

Last weekend former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos requested a release from her Zuffa contract, and now it appears that her wish has been granted.

Fielding questions from reporters following UFC on FUEL 7’s pre-fight press conference on Tuesday, UFC President Dana White confirmed that the promotion has cut ties with “Cyborg,” before launching into a particularly scathing rant about the pair’s dealings.

“When you send a letter from your lawyer and your doctor saying I will die if I try to make 135 (pounds), it’s just the goofiest thing,” said White. “I’ve never seen anything like it in the fight business.

“So you don’t want to make 135, but you want to talk about fighting Ronda (Rousey). First of all, you tested positive for steroids and got stripped of your title. And you’re trying to talk about how Ronda doesn’t want to fight you, but she’s the champion at 135. If Ronda goes and does the fight at 140, it’s not even for a title. The fight just makes no sense.

White went on to explain that the UFC attempted to secure “Cyborg” a series of fights with all-female promotion Invicta FC while she worked through her weight issues, however “Cyborg” and her management team, led by UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, wanted no part of it.

“It’s wacky beyond wackiness,” White remarked incredulously.

“There is no 145-pound women’s division. She’s under contract with us, so we’d get her some fights somewhere else. We’d get her some fights. Let’s play this 135-pound thing out and see what happens, see where this thing goes. No.

“‘Cyborg’ is pretty much irrelevant right now,” White flatly concluded. “She really is. She’s irrelevant. Go out there and win some fights again, get your name back, stay clean, stay off some steroids and get your career back on track, and then we’ll talk. But for her to think that everybody should move around and jump through hoops for her is insane.”

And with that, the cold and dreary sound you just heard is “Cyborg” attempting to navigate the lonely waters of WMMA sans Invicta FC and the UFC.

(Side note: The Morning Report will take a brief hiatus tomorrow, but not to worry, we’ll be back on Monday in our best formal attire for all your post-fight needs. Now let’s get to it.)

Star-divide

6 MUST-READ STORIES

White: Cyborg is ‘irrelevant.’ UFC President Dana White revealed to reporters in London on Wednesday that the UFC has cut ties with former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos. Added White, “She’s irrelevant. Go out there and win some fights again, get your name back, stay clean, stay off some steroids and get your career back on track, and then we’ll talk. But for her to think that everybody should move around and jump through hoops for her is insane.”

Penn teases 155 return. Following surgery to repair a cataract in his eye, former multi-divisional UFC champion B.J. Penn posted a curious and potentially prophetic message on his Facebook page: ‎”155? first I gotta spar and check my depth perception, LW’s will eat me up with their speed if I don’t judge the distance right, no weight class is easier.” Penn later clarified that he had no specific plans in mind at the moment.

Belfort vs. Rockhold. A long-rumored middleweight bout pitting Vitor Belfort against former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold is expected to headline a UFC event in Brazil sometime during the second quarter of 2013. A date and venue for the event were not specified.

Cruz update. Although everything is going “as well as can be expected” with the knee rehab of UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, UFC President Dana White said he would likely be forced to reassess the situation if the 27-year-old suffers yet another setback. “If he starts training again and gets another injury that’s going to take him out for a year — and I hate to even say this about the kid since he’s a really good kid — but he should seriously probably look at retiring,” White explained.

Bellator 89 weigh-in results. All 20 fighters met their required weight at Wednesday’s official Bellator 89 weigh-ins, including bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas and title challenger Marcos Galvao.

UFC 156 drug tests. All fighters on the UFC 156 fight card passed Nevada State Athletic Commission sanctioned post-fight urine tests, including Alistair Overeem. The Dutchman submitted an additional post-fight blood test through which testosterone levels are checked, however the results of the test will not be finalized until next week.

Star-divide

MEDIA STEW

If you missed this week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 17, feel free to check it out in full below.

(HT: CagePotato)

Star-divide

You should probably drop whatever you’re doing and check out the sensational Invicta FC 4 highlight video our good friend E. Casey Leydon put together.

Star-divide

Pat Barry: Esteemed professional fighter, Hall of Fame alarm clock.

Star-divide

If this whole ‘fighters destroying objects and/or food in slow motion’ thing is about to become a trend, I, for one, am all for it.

Star-divide

What was Michael Bisping doing eight years ago? Well, besides flaunting some gnarly pink hair, he was busy locking horns with UFC stablemate Cyrille Diabaté in a Cage Warriors kickboxing match. Bizarre footage.

(HT: Reddit)

Star-divide

Tito Ortiz is not amused.

Star-divide

IT’S SOMETHING

Star-divide

HELL OF A WAY TO CELEBRATE

Star-divide

THE POWER

Star-divide

YUP

Star-divide

TWEET OF THE YEAR

Star-divide

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announced yesterday (Wednesday, February 13, 2013):

Star-divide

FANPOST OF THE DAY

Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes from J.S.H, who writes: Barao vs. McDonald: Predictions, Bets and Breakdowns

Gunnar Nelson vs. Jorge Santiago: I love this fight! This one, I think, has a huge chance to turn out a surprise. I didn’t want to put anything on this, but couldn’t resist. I have a feeling that Gunnar Nelson might get caught with something. He seems a little lackadaisical and calm. Maybe, Santiago comes in storming and takes it to him. Who knows?

Again, I can’t bet against that winning-streak. I don’t think Jorge will look any better in the UFC than he has in his previous showings. And I was really kicking myself in the ass for not picking him against Demarques.

My Bet: Gunnar Nelson by Round One Technical Knockout (TKO).

Jimi Manuwa vs. Cyrille Diabate: I used to be high on Diabate. Before his Luiz Cane fight I was telling people he will be great in the UFC and all that. He knocked out Luiz Cane. But, those who have done that have went on a downward spiral. Rogerio Nogueira was supposedly the next big thing at 205-pounds — after that — then performed poorly against Brilz and Bader. Same goes for Nedkov. He was out for like a year then looked like dog s–t against Thiago Silva. It’s the Luiz Cane curse. But, I feel it holds no weight in the Nedkov fight. For the other reasons I posted.

Back to this one. I picked against Diabate last time, I chose Chad F—ing Griggs and paid the price.

So this time. I’m making that back!

My bet: Jimi Manuwa by Round One Knockout (KO).

Cub Swanson vs. Dustin Poirier: Another sick fight! Poirier has gotta be one of my favorite featherweights. Anyone who can punk Pablo Garza — the way he did is a tough outing for anyone.

Difference in this one (and i think Ariel and NY Ric were discussing this on the last episode of “The MMA Hour”): Dustin Poirier’s ability to mix things up and grab ahold of submissions. Even if he can’t sub Swanson, he will surely try. If not, then we can expect a right-handed fighter slugging it out with a southpaw. Which are my favorite type of standup fights.

No Bet

My Pick: Dustin Poirier by Unanimous Decision (UD).

Undercard and main event predictions and bets after the jump…

Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in Monday’s column.