UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is a very busy fighter. Between filming The Ultimate Fighter, preparing for a December showdown with No. 1 contender Miesha Tate and readying herself for an upcoming role in The Expendables 3, “Rowdy” has, as she puts it, “a really, really full plate.”
Rousey spoke with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, musing about her future. Predictably, the question of Rousey vs. Cyborg Justino (formerly Santos) took center stage.
Cyborg has put together an impressive 2013, posting a 2-0 record, which includes an Invicta FC featherweight title victory over Marloes Coenen. Prior to the run, Justino had been serving a suspension for a positive PED test in her final Strikeforce bout.
The resurgence of Cyborg has rekindled interest in a Rousey vs. Justino superfight, but as Rousey told ESPN, the ball is firmly in Justino’s court.
“I have a lot of things going on,” Rousey explained. “She’s fighting random chicks. I mean, Marloes—it took her longer and more energy to beat Marloes than it took Miesha [Tate] (in July 2011).”
Rousey‘s assessment is pragmatic, as she stands on the high ground—the UFC—while Justino is toiling away in Invicta, a relatively obscure promotion.
Clearly, Rousey won’t be bolting from the biggest stage in MMA to put on a match that she thinks, “only the MMA diehards…want to see.”
But getting the women into the same promotion isn’t the big sticking point—Justino could likely be persuaded to join the UFC. The larger issue is getting them into the same weight class.
The UFC currently hosts a women’s bantamweight class but no featherweight division, which is where Justino competes. The Brazilian has had issues cutting to 135 in the past, and Rousey has shown no desire to jump back up, nor does she have the option as a UFC competitor.
So, as Rousey has said before, if Justino finds a way to come to her, she’ll be waiting. But if Justino is waiting for Rousey to come to her, she shouldn’t hold her breath.
“If she really wants to make that fight happen,” Rousey said, “I’m here.”
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