No one should have any sympathy for Cris “Cyborg” Justino.
From violently demolishing over-matched opponents to years of suspected drug use, the former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion has dug her own grave.
Quite frankly, it’s disgusting that the UFC is even entertaining the idea of signing Cyborg to a catchweight superfight with Ronda Rousey. Once again, Dana White is chasing the biggest payoff possible while not considering the long term.
Despite the fact that Rousey has only been in the MMA game for little more than two years, the Olympic bronze medalist has almost undone all the damage caused to the women’s division by Cyborg’s lengthy reign.
By that token alone, the burden should be on Cyborg to cut down to 135 pounds, not for Rousey to meet her in the middle.
Oh, but it gets better—Cyborg’s excuses for not wanting (or being able) to cut weight are as varied as they are convenient.
Rousey’s just scared she’ll get beaten up. Cyborg’s frame is naturally too big to safely trim down. Ronda’s been dominant at 145 pounds before. A paltry 10 pounds shouldn’t be such a big deal.
And most recently, Cyborg’s newest angle is that the weight cut could potentially damage her ability to give birth, according to the latest word from MMA Weekly. Justino still wants to have a child one day, so the UFC and athletic commissions should relent and let her fight at “Cyborgweight.”
Well, that’s too bad.
Like it or not, Cyborg’s case would be more understandable if she wasn’t a doppelganger for Lou Ferrigno’s thumb. But Justino dug her own grave the minute she tested positive for anabolic steroids and subsequently got herself suspended.
That throws her whole career into question, especially her build and figure. For years, Cyborg’s strength was much like the Alistair Overeem situation, where people suspected steroid use but couldn’t say anything for sure.
Given the utter savagery she’s displayed against the likes of Jan Finney and Hiroko Yamanaka, it’s reasonable to assume that Cyborg’s drug use extends beyond the training camp for her last fight, and as a result, she almost killed the featherweight division and ruined women’s MMA.
With that kind of history behind her, Cyborg’s worries about damaging her body should not be some kind of excuse to force Rousey to move up. If anything, Cyborg’s career should be over due to her inability to move between weight divisions.
After all, just what kind of precedent does it set for Cyborg to get her way?
Miesha Tate is right when she says that her rival isn’t single-handedly responsible for bringing women’s MMA to the UFC. It’s really a combination of Rousey’s star power, Invicta FC’s niche success and Strikeforce’s dedication to female fighters, even when there weren’t many matches to make.
If Cyborg wants to go home and be a family woman, she should be free to do so.
Let her leave.
She’ll be easily forgotten.
Besides, you have to admit that the irony here is staggeringly poignant. Cyborg actively smashed the 145-pound division until Gina Carano left and there were no viable stars.
As a direct result, the UFC might focus solely on bantamweight, leaving Justino in the cold.
Instead of cashing in on a superfight that pits a rising star against a known steroid abuser, the UFC can actually go the extra mile and build up a few challengers. Sign worldwide talent. You know, basic stuff. Do a little extra legwork, Joe Silva.
Rousey’s star will rise without Cyborg, especially if the UFC does something as bold as an all-women’s season of TUF with Tate as a coach. Cyborg isn’t worth the trouble, and the UFC shouldn’t pander to the Brazilian Bomber.
[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]
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