Ronda Rousey put a new spin on the Cris Cyborg situation on Monday.
The UFC women’s bantamweight champion said in her Reddit AMA that the entire thing with Cyborg is more about money than weight.
“She’s just waiting to be offered enough money to get her ass kicked,” Rousey said.
Rousey is the UFC’s 135-pound champion. Cyborg is the 145-pound champ for Invicta FC. They are the two best fighters in the history of women’s MMA. But in order for the fight to happen, the UFC and Rousey want Cyborg to make 135 pounds for the first time ever. Cyborg would prefer doing the bout at a catchweight of 140.
Rousey said Cyborg consulted with Mike Dolce, now Rousey’s nutritionist, about making 135 pounds and Dolce told her she would be in the best shape of her life at 135. Rousey also has maintained that if Cyborg can make 145 on steroids (she tested positive in 2011), then she could easily make 135.
Cyborg’s nutritionist George Lockhart told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s The MMA Hour that Cyborg could “absolutely” make 135 pounds and he believes she could so without losing her substantial strength, power and athleticism.
“The delay is all about money, not her weight,” Rousey said. “She made 145 pumped full of steroids. She can healthily make 135 without them. Her shows that she headlines lose thousands of dollars, and the majority of the tickets are given away because no one will buy them. She needs me. So pretty much we’re waiting for her to realize that she needs to fight me before I retire, or she’ll never have enough money to retire.”
Rousey and Cyborg have gone back and forth for years at this point. Rousey is undefeated with all of her wins coming by finish — all but one in the first round. In her last three fights, Rousey has spent just 64 seconds in the Octagon. Meanwhile, Cyborg has not lost since 2005 and has decimated her opponents in Invicta.
“Rowdy,” though, said she doesn’t feel like she needs the Cyborg fight to cement her legacy.
“I would like me kicking her ass [to] be my retirement fight but whether she steps up or not I’ll walk away undefeated and happily ever after regardless,” Rousey said.