UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey claims she is prepared to wait a further two years to secure a fight with Cris “Cyborg” Justino before “moving on with my life.”
Current Invicta FC champion Justino is reluctant to drop down to 135 pounds, but she is now under contract with UFC owners Zuffa, as reported by Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting.
Many are hankering for Rousey and Cyborg to meet each other in the octagon, but Rousey likens the situation to that of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, who took five years to agree terms before their May 2 fight.
Rousey suggests she isn’t prepared to wait beyond 2017, as reported on The MMA Hour (via Doyle): “I mean, Pacquiao-Mayweather had about a five-year buildup. We’re about at three, so I’d say I would keep my hopes up til five, then after that, I’m moving on with my life.”
Both fighters have been linked with opposing stints as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, but Rousey suggests she isn’t willing to return to the show, per the aforementioned report: “I’m never doing Ultimate Fighter ever again. Everyone in the UFC, in The Ultimate Fighter, everyone on earth knows I’ll never do that show ever again for all the money in the world. You’d have to hold my little sister at gunpoint to get me to do that show again.”
Rousey was a coach on TUF season 18, appearing opposite Miesha Tate. It’s fair to suggest she was largely portrayed as an argumentative, confrontational leader. Although she beat Tate in their fight after the series, the show wasn’t a positive influence on her reputation.
The 11-0 fighter is arguably the sport’s most dominant athlete. Her clash with Tate is the only time Rousey has progressed beyond the first round, but as often is the way, she finished it with a brutal armbar submission, per ESPN.
Aside from her debut loss 10 years ago, Justino has also remained dominant throughout her career. The former Strikeforce champion is a prolific knockout artist, winning 11 of her 13 victories via TKO/KO, per ESPN. She usually fights at featherweight, but as noted by Doyle, her new contract with Zuffa includes “a plan to eventually fight at 135.”
Justino isn’t looking to take Rousey’s titles, but she does want to face her, per UFC Tonight (via Fighters Only):
This could open the doorway to a blockbuster showdown. It only seems a matter of time until Justino makes the step into the UFC, particularly as president Dana White is likely looking to find some competition for Rousey. Cyborg is the logical choice, both in terms of quality and as a profitable financial decision for the company.
Unlike Mayweather-Pacquiao, let’s hope the fight lives up to its billing if terms can ever be agreed.
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