Tag: Cris Cyborg

Signing Cris Cyborg Would Put a Spotlight on the UFC’s Drug Problem — And That’s a Good Thing


(A vision of a terrifying future? / Photo via FightNext)

By Trent Reinsmith

On July 5 UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey positively destroyed #2 ranked contender Alexis Davis. The fight, UFC 175’s co-main event, was Rousey’s fourth UFC title defense, and lasted just 16 seconds, making it the second shortest title fight in UFC history. The fight was so short that the UFC didn’t even make a highlight video available. If they had, it would have been the entire bout.

Leading into the contest, commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg tried to sell fans that Davis was going to be a tough test for Rousey. She wasn’t. Davis landed a total of two strikes during the fight, while Rousey landed 16. Most of Rousey’s strikes came after she kneed Davis to the body and threw her to the ground. Once on the mat, Rousey unloaded a series of punches to Davis’ head, and Yves Lavigne mercifully waved off a fight that had to leave some wondering why the matchup was booked in the first place.

At the post-fight media scrum, UFC president Dana White fielded the inevitable question: When will the UFC sign the one female fighter that many feel will give Rousey some true competition, Cris “Cyborg” Justino? Instead of dismissing the question with a tirade about managers, drugs, weight cutting and death — which is White’s usual play — he turned the question around to the media in attendance and asked if they wanted him to sign Justino to the UFC.

White found only one media member that was opposed to the organization signing the current Invicta FC featherweight champion.

After polling the media, White said he didn’t want to hear the media’s “bullshit” if he does sign Justino. “This shit is going to fucking flip as soon as I sign her, about drug testing and all the other bullshit. It will be the biggest fucking topic. It will be the biggest fucking story for you guys to write on whether she’s — oh my fucking God. The script will flip immediately.”


(A vision of a terrifying future? / Photo via FightNext)

By Trent Reinsmith

On July 5 UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey positively destroyed #2 ranked contender Alexis Davis. The fight, UFC 175’s co-main event, was Rousey’s fourth UFC title defense, and lasted just 16 seconds, making it the second shortest title fight in UFC history. The fight was so short that the UFC didn’t even make a highlight video available. If they had, it would have been the entire bout.

Leading into the contest, commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg tried to sell fans that Davis was going to be a tough test for Rousey. She wasn’t. Davis landed a total of two strikes during the fight, while Rousey landed 16. Most of Rousey’s strikes came after she kneed Davis to the body and threw her to the ground. Once on the mat, Rousey unloaded a series of punches to Davis’ head, and Yves Lavigne mercifully waved off a fight that had to leave some wondering why the matchup was booked in the first place.

At the post-fight media scrum, UFC president Dana White fielded the inevitable question: When will the UFC sign the one female fighter that many feel will give Rousey some true competition, Cris “Cyborg” Justino? Instead of dismissing the question with a tirade about managers, drugs, weight cutting and death — which is White’s usual play — he turned the question around to the media in attendance and asked if they wanted him to sign Justino to the UFC.

White found only one media member that was opposed to the organization signing the current Invicta FC featherweight champion.

After polling the media, White said he didn’t want to hear the media’s “bullshit” if he does sign Justino. “This shit is going to fucking flip as soon as I sign her, about drug testing and all the other bullshit. It will be the biggest fucking topic. It will be the biggest fucking story for you guys to write on whether she’s — oh my fucking God. The script will flip immediately.”

During the conversation White heard Yahoo.com’s Kevin Iole opine that if Vitor Belfort gets to fight in the UFC, so should Justino.

Iole’s point addressed the fact that Belfort, who failed a 2006 drug test, and a 2014 (out of competition) drug test was mentioned as a potential opponent for UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman following Weidman’s successful title defense against Lyoto Machida in UFC 175’s main event.

Iole made a valid point with his statement. White did as well, but probably not the one he wanted to make.

White does not get to pick and choose what the media that covers the sport of MMA, and specifically his organization, writes and talks about. Yes, he does a good job of controlling the message through bombast, insults, and myth-making, and he does have the ear of the fans, but so what? If White signs Justino to the UFC (and he should), he’s going to hear from MMA media about Justino’s less-than-pristine history with PEDs and drug testing — just like he’s going to hear about these uncomfortable topics whenever Belfort’s next fight is announced, especially if that Belfort fight is scheduled for anywhere except Las Vegas.

Throughout her career there has been a great deal of speculation about Justino’s use of steroids, and she did in fact fail a 2011 drug test, testing positive for stanozolol metabolites. Justino served a one-year suspension for that failed test. What often gets overlooked is that since that time, Justino passed a 2014 random drug test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Knowing that Justino has a recently passed random drug test in her back pocket, I’d be much more comfortable with the UFC signing her than I would be with the promotion handing Belfort a title fight directly after his own failed test.

If Justino is signed and booked to fight Rousey, that fight needs to take place in Las Vegas because the state of Nevada has recently shown that they are getting serious with their testing procedures, particularly through random testing. That fact was in evidence when they recently nabbed Chael Sonnen twice for prohibited substances, including human growth hormone (HGH) and recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO).

Justino should have to go through a stringent regime of in-competition and out-of-competition testing if the UFC does sign her, and that testing should be administered by an organization like the NSAC.

Nevada is also where the potential Weidman vs. Belfort contest needs to be booked. With the cloud that hangs over his head, Belfort and the UFC need to get fans to believe he is truly clean before he steps into the Octagon to fight for a title. That won’t happen if he fights in Brazil, or anywhere outside of Las Vegas.

Belfort is going to have to face the NSAC and talk about his failed test, and if they license him to fight in the state, he should have a pamphlet of stipulations that go along with that licensing. One of the biggest stipulations needs to be a robust random drug testing regiment — both in and out of competition.

UFC vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner recently said that the UFC’s goal is to clean up the sport. White has a chance to take some steps toward making that a reality by booking Belfort in Las Vegas, and by signing Justino to a contract.

White does not get to choose what the MMA media writes about, but he does he get to choose who fights for the UFC and where they fight. By signing Justino and booking her to fight in Vegas, and having Belfort fight in Vegas, it will be a good first step toward removing some taint from the sport, and the UFC.

My suggestion? The UFC should sign Justino and book her against Rousey on the same fight card as Weidman vs. Belfort and use that event to highlight the progress that the NSAC and UFC are making toward cleaning up MMA.

Fight Pass FTW?!: UFC to Begin Broadcasting Invicta FC Events Exclusively on Digital Network


(“Cris Cyborg is a roided-out, Wanderlei Silva in a dress-looking freak…who you can now watch compete for just $9.99 a month!”)

Of all the suggestions we made as to how the UFC could improve their Fight Pass programming, one obvious oversight we made was that of Invicta FC events. The UFC’s ties with the all-women’s fight promotion haven’t exactly been kept under wraps over the years, with the UFC recently pillaging Invicta’s strawweight division to fill the roster for The Ultimate Fighter 20. Considering Invicta’s past struggles with their website and iPPV process, it was only a matter of time before they partnered with the best the second best digital subscription-based combat sports (entertainment) website out there, right?

Well I’ll be damned if my fictionalized, rhetorical version of you CP readers isn’t actually right for once. Earlier today, the two promotions announced “an historic multi-year, multi-event deal” (via MMAJunkie) that grants the UFC exclusive broadcast rights to all future Invicta events via their Fight Pass network in addition to the promotion’s entire library being made available in the FP archives.

Said Invicta FC president and co-founder Shannon Knapp about the deal:

This is a great day for my company. Since the start of Invicta, I’ve been committed to providing the biggest and best possible platform for women athletes, and with this distribution deal with UFC Fight Pass, Invicta will reach the most passionate MMA fans, wherever they are in the world. 


(“Cris Cyborg is a roided-out, Wanderlei Silva in a dress-looking freak…who you can now watch compete for just $9.99 a month!”)

Of all the suggestions we made as to how the UFC could improve their Fight Pass programming, one obvious oversight we made was that of Invicta FC events. The UFC’s ties with the all-women’s fight promotion haven’t exactly been kept under wraps over the years, with the UFC recently pillaging Invicta’s strawweight division to fill the roster for The Ultimate Fighter 20. Considering Invicta’s past struggles with their website and iPPV process, it was only a matter of time before they partnered with the best the second best digital subscription-based combat sports (entertainment) website out there, right?

Well I’ll be damned if my fictionalized, rhetorical version of you CP readers isn’t actually right for once. Earlier today, the two promotions announced “an historic multi-year, multi-event deal” (via MMAJunkie) that grants the UFC exclusive broadcast rights to all future Invicta events via their Fight Pass network in addition to the promotion’s entire library being made available in the FP archives.

Said Invicta FC president and co-founder Shannon Knapp about the deal:

This is a great day for my company. Since the start of Invicta, I’ve been committed to providing the biggest and best possible platform for women athletes, and with this distribution deal with UFC Fight Pass, Invicta will reach the most passionate MMA fans, wherever they are in the world. 

I may knock Fight Pass for being a frustrating, malfunctioning, transparent money grab piece of sh*t waste of time as much as the next guy, but even in my bitter cynicism, I simply cannot claim that this is anything but a brilliant move on the UFC’s part. It not only raises the value of a Fight Pass subscription tenfold, but will help expose entirely new legions of MMA fans to the idea that, yes, there *are* other women’s divisions out there than Rouseyweight. Who knew, amiright?

The only complaint that could really be made about Invicta — a promotion that, with just 7 events under their belt, is still largely in its infancy — was its faulty methods of content delivery, but even that could often be attributed to their unexpected popularity/growth in such a short timespan. A mutual relationship with Fight Pass is a win-win for both parties involved but especially Invicta, who is currently “targeting a late-summer event, headlined by a world title fight” for their first Fight Pass card.

“This is an historic event for myself, the company and my athletes,” said Knapp, “and every one of them is going to want to be on this first card.”

The UFC’s chief content officer for Fight Pass, Marshall Zelaznik (who I’m going to assume is literally the man pictured here), was equally elated about the deal, stating:

When we launched UFC Fight Pass last Christmas, we said that we would never rest in bringing the best value to our subscribers. The addition of live and archived Invicta programming is going to be of enormous interest to our existing subscribers and bring in new subscribers, too.

Plus, the Invicta/Fight Pass merger will provide us media types umpteen more opportunities to discuss the possibility of Cris Cyborg vs. Ronda Rousey down to the very last detail, and that’s always fun. Yeah, fun…

–J. Jones

Dana White Calls Cris Cyborg “Wanderlei Silva in a Dress,” Is the Absolute Worst

Earlier this week, Ronda Rousey forged ahead in her war of words with Cris Cyborg, calling the former Strikeforce champ an “it” and earning the ire of MMA apparel brand Americana in the process. While most of us likely assumed that Rousey would not be punished for her remarks — unlike Matt Mitrione, who made similarly unprofessional comments about Fallon Fox in the past and was suspended as a result — we couldn’t have possibly foreseen that White would not only support Rousey’s claims, but pile on Cyborg as well, could we?

HAHAHAHA, I know right? I could barely make it through that sentence myself. Dana White is and has always been an jackass with zero impulse control, so obviously, he used yesterday’s UFC 172 media day as an opportunity to hurl misogynistic insults Cyborg’s way like the professional that he is.

“When I saw her at the MMA awards, she looked like Wanderlei Silva in a dress and heels,” said White while his media cronies giggled in the background like a bunch of middle schoolers. I can’t blame them; they probably would’ve had their credentials pulled if they didn’t treat White like a Don from a 50’s gangster movie. “Wanderlei Silva in a dress, dats a good one, boss!”

But it was when White actually attempted to defend Rousey’s comments that the real standup act began…

Earlier this week, Ronda Rousey forged ahead in her war of words with Cris Cyborg, calling the former Strikeforce champ an “it” and earning the ire of MMA apparel brand Americana in the process. While most of us likely assumed that Rousey would not be punished for her remarks — unlike Matt Mitrione, who made similarly unprofessional comments about Fallon Fox in the past and was suspended as a result — we couldn’t have possibly foreseen that White would not only support Rousey’s claims, but pile on Cyborg as well, could we?

HAHAHAHA, I know right? I could barely make it through that sentence myself. Dana White is and has always been an jackass with zero impulse control, so obviously, he used yesterday’s UFC 172 media day as an opportunity to hurl misogynistic insults Cyborg’s way like the professional that he is.

“When I saw her at the MMA awards, she looked like Wanderlei Silva in a dress and heels,” said White while his media cronies giggled in the background like a bunch of middle schoolers. I can’t blame them; they probably would’ve had their credentials pulled if they didn’t treat White like a Don from a 50′s gangster movie. “Wanderlei Silva in a dress, dats a good one, boss!”

But it was when White actually attempted to defend Rousey’s comments that the real standup act began…(via MMAJunkie)

I think that this is the fight business, and people say mean things about each other. Is it not true? Has [Justino] not taken (steroids)? She got busted for taking Winstrol, the same drug that Ben Johnson took and many other athletes took to do what? To cheat. Ronda called her a f—ing cheater.

Fair enough, Dana, Justino has been busted for steroids in the past, and people do say mean things about each other in the fight game. So far, all’s fair here.

She’s not a transgender fighter. She’s a woman. What Ronda’s saying is, she’s taken so many drugs that she’s probably not a woman anymore. She’s not a transgender fighter. She didn’t have a surgery.

Is she an it? Is she a transgender fighter? Did she have a surgery? She called her an it. [Cybogs] called Ronda a chicken. Should Ronda be offended by being called a chicken? Grow the f–k up, everybody.

Again, I would have no problem with White’s statement here (other than it going against the “offensive and wholly unacceptable” precedent set by Mitrione’s suspension), had he not chose to follow-up a comment telling everyone to “grow up” by hurling a childish insult at Cyborg and then mocking the way she walks with zero irony whatsoever. Except that’s exactly what he did. 

She’s a bad representative of female athletes. When you’re a female and you’ve taken that many drugs for so long, when you’ve been on steroids for as long as this girl has, you know, it’s tough. 

So what you’re saying is that it’s easier for MMA fans to accept that a male fighter has advanced his career by taking illegal, mind and body-altering drugs than it is a female fighter? That’s gotta be right up there with Julianna Pena’s recent “I’m a girl” defense for the most hilariously unaware quote of the week! Care to clarify that, Dana?

This isn’t the same as a guy who had taken some stuff before and got busted and has come back and is fighting other men. The fine line between men fighting and women fighting is night and day (Ed note: WUT?). A lot of people still aren’t crazy about the women fighting. And a lot of the time these women are fighting on national television. And it’s just, you understand what I’m saying?

Wow. That might be the dumbest thing I have read all year. But no, Dana, I do not understand what you’re saying, so let me try to break down your line of logic:

Because Cyborg was busted for steroids once, three years ago, and recently passed a random drug test, her offense is somehow more unforgivable than re-signing Josh Barnett, who has been busted for steroids three times and twice under your own promotion, because she’s a woman? And unlike male MMA, which is pretty much a universally accepted and beloved sport at this point (LOL!), female MMA requires stricter regulations because it’s on national television, which male MMA apparently isn’t? In the words of the CME Podcast: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!

Mr. White, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I’ve ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

(To her credit, Cyborg seems to be taking White’s criticism well.)

–J. Jones

Ronda Rousey Calls Cris Cyborg an “It,” Receives $5,000 Bounty on Her Head


(“Come at me, brahs.” Photo via Getty.)

With a fight lined up against savvy veteran Alexis Davis in May and a seemingly inevitable showdown with Gina Carano on the horizon, one would think that Ronda Rousey has plenty on her plate to keep her distracted from her never-ending war of words with Cris Cyborg. Then again, if we’ve learned one thing about Ms. Rousey over the years, it’s that the only thing she loves more than breaking people’s arms is talking shit about people whose arms she has yet to break (ex. Kardashian, K. and Caraway, B.). Women be talkin’, amiright fellas?

So perhaps it makes sense that, during an interview with Yahoo’s Kevin Iole, Rousey only briefly touched on the fights she actually has lined up before once again unleashing a barrage of insults at the former Strikeforce featherweight champion like the classy, grown-up professional that she is:

I’ve said before, I don’t care if she’s injecting horse semen into her eyeballs, I’ll fight her, but that’s just my personal decision. But I can’t make a decision for the whole division. I can’t say it’s the right thing. This girl has been on steroids for so long and [has been] injecting herself for so long that she’s not even a woman anymore. She’s an ‘it.’ It’s not good for the women’s division. It’s not good at all.

While an “it” isn’t exactly the worst burn Rousey has ever thrown Cyborg’s way, the insult was enough to earn the ire of MMA apparel brand Americana, who threw down the following gauntlet on Twitter last night…


(“Come at me, brahs.” Photo via Getty.)

With a fight lined up against savvy veteran Alexis Davis in May and a seemingly inevitable showdown with Gina Carano on the horizon, one would think that Ronda Rousey has plenty on her plate to keep her distracted from her never-ending war of words with Cris Cyborg. Then again, if we’ve learned one thing about Ms. Rousey over the years, it’s that the only thing she loves more than breaking people’s arms is talking shit about people whose arms she has yet to break (ex. Kardashian, K. and Caraway, B.). Women be talkin’, amiright fellas?

So perhaps it makes sense that, during an interview with Yahoo’s Kevin Iole, Rousey only briefly touched on the fights she actually has lined up before once again unleashing a barrage of insults at the former Strikeforce featherweight champion like the classy, grown-up professional that she is:

I’ve said before, I don’t care if she’s injecting horse semen into her eyeballs, I’ll fight her, but that’s just my personal decision. But I can’t make a decision for the whole division. I can’t say it’s the right thing. This girl has been on steroids for so long and [has been] injecting herself for so long that she’s not even a woman anymore. She’s an ‘it.’ It’s not good for the women’s division. It’s not good at all.

While an “it” isn’t exactly the worst burn Rousey has ever thrown Cyborg’s way, the insult was enough to earn the ire of MMA apparel brand Americana, who threw down the following gauntlet on Twitter last night…

Finally, some *actual* motivation to beat the champion of the only women’s division in the UFC. Ladies, start trying…now!

As you would expect, Americana’s tweet did not exactly go over well in the eyes of people who think Rousey can do no wrong, which led the apparel company to later clarify their stance via a Facebook message:

Damn, they almost had me in their corner until they dropped that “sheep” line, at which point I could only think of this…

Obviously, Rousey will not be reprimanded for her comments in any way, shape, or form because she’s “the biggest star the UFC’s ever had,” but it’s hard to deny that her latest tirade raises an interesting question in regards to the UFC’s code of conduct. The answer to that question of course being that, like every other aspect of the UFC/MMA — from the refereeing to the judging to the UFC’s media and hiring/firing policies — the code of conduct is less a set of rules than a widely varying guideline that is only enforced when it is most convenient for all parties involved. Fuck yeah, transparency!

–J. Jones

21 Times the UFC Proved They Cared More About Entertainment Than Sport


(#22: Building doors out of wet cardboard for dramatic effect.)

The UFC is not a sports organization. They’re an entertainment company that dabbles in athletic competition. Here’s the proof:

1. Firing Jake Shields.

2. Firing Yushin Okami.

3. Firing Jon Fitch.

4. Not firing Dan Hardy (“I like guys who WAR“)

5. Giving Chael Sonnen a title shot coming off a loss.

6. Giving Nick Diaz a title shot coming off a loss.

7. Bringing a 1-0 Brock Lesnar into the UFC.

8. James Toney.

9. Signing Sean Gannon after he beat Kimbo Slice via exhaustion in an illegal bare-knuckle street fight.

10. Putting Kimbo Slice on a main card after he went 0-1 in the TUF House.


(#22: Building doors out of wet cardboard for dramatic effect.)

The UFC is not a sports organization. They’re an entertainment company that dabbles in athletic competition. Here’s the proof:

1. Firing Jake Shields.

2. Firing Yushin Okami.

3. Firing Jon Fitch.

4. Not firing Dan Hardy (“I like guys who WAR“)

5. Giving Chael Sonnen a title shot coming off a loss.

6. Giving Nick Diaz a title shot coming off a loss.

7. Bringing a 1-0 Brock Lesnar into the UFC.

8. James Toney.

9. Signing Sean Gannon after he beat Kimbo Slice via exhaustion in an illegal bare-knuckle street fight.

10. Putting Kimbo Slice on a main card after he went 0-1 in the TUF House.

11. Allowing alcohol in the TUF house.

12. Telling Ben Askren to win some fights.

13. Basically refusing to sign Cris Cyborg forever.

14. Lying about all the fighter’s credentials and accomplishments for UFC 1.

15. Lying about all the fighter’s credentials and accomplishments in the modern day.

16. Instant rematches when the wrong guy wins.

17. Interviewing Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker whenever they show up at events.

18. The fact that you can buy Arianny t-shirts on the UFC website.

19. Every single time when they brought a potential opponent into the cage to square off with someone who just won their fight (this is our favorite example).

20. Bringing back Tank Abbott in the early 2000′s.

21. Dana White vs. Tito Ortiz.


(And here comes Bruce Buffer with a steel chair!)

UFC Booking Alert: Ronda Rousey to Face Alexis Davis at UFC 175


(Did you know: Ronda Rousey doesn’t listen to music, only the screams of past opponents. / Photo via Getty)

Ronda Rousey‘s next opponent has been determined. It’s not Holly Holm. It’s not Gina Carano, and it’s definitely not Cris Cyborg.

It’s Alexis Davis, who’s currently 3-0 in the UFC and is on a five-fight win streak overall.

Dana White announced the fight over twitter last night.

To be honest, we’re a little disappointed. Find out why after the jump.


(Did you know: Ronda Rousey doesn’t listen to music, only the screams of past opponents. / Photo via Getty)

Ronda Rousey‘s next opponent has been determined. It’s not Holly Holm. It’s not Gina Carano, and it’s definitely not Cris Cyborg. It’s Alexis Davis, who’s currently 3-0 in the UFC and is on a five-fight win streak overall. Dana White announced the fight over twitter last night.

To be honest, we’re a little disappointed. We wanted one of the “big three” names that get thrown around when Rousey is mentioned–Carano, Cyborg, or Holm.

Dana White met with Gina Carano recently, but apparently nothing came of it–at least nothing immediate. It’s still possible that they eventually work something out. Who knows, maybe Carano will face Rousey at the UFC’s year-end card. And while Carano getting an immediate title shot after several years of inactivity would be insane, the amount of buzz that a Carano-Rousey fight would generate is undeniable (even if the fight itself would be one-sided in favor of Rousey).

And, of course, we already know that the UFC (more specifically Dana White) is not at all sold on the idea of Holly Holm in the UFC. And Cyborg? She’ll likely never see the inside of the Octagon, sadly.

So it looks like the Rousey hype train will justifiably pick up more steam this July at UFC 175. We’re not going to officially call the fight right now to avoid a “Dewey Defeats Truman” scenario, but a Rousey win is certainly more likely. Davis just isn’t on the same level in terms of skill and raw athleticism. Remember our theory about the UFC women’s bantamweight division just being a feeder system for Rousey? Looking more true with each booking!