When UFC president Dana White said several members of the female roster turned down the chance to face Cris “Cyborg” Justino, many balked at the claim.
But, it appears White was at least partially telling the truth.
Lenny Fresquez, the manager fo…
When UFC president Dana White said several members of the female roster turned down the chance to face Cris “Cyborg” Justino, many balked at the claim.
But, it appears White was at least partially telling the truth.
Lenny Fresquez, the manager for Holly Holm, told the Albuquerque Journal that he turned down an offer for the former champion to face Justino this year. Instead, Justino will meet Leslie Smith at UFC 197 in May.
“We were not interesting in that right now,” he said. “(Holm) just wants to fight Miesha (Tate).”
Earlier this year, Holm suffered her first MMA loss, falling via fifth round rear-naked choke to Tate. In 2015, Holm did the same to Ronda Rousey for the belt, earning a second round TKO win.
“Right now, what’s on my heart is the rematch,” Holm said. “I don’t necessarily want to be too picky, either. I’m the one coming off a loss. I can’t expect to have everything handed to me, so we’ll see what happens.”
UFC officials originally wanted to pair Holm and Rousey up, but with “Rowdy” taking time off to film movie roles, Holm opted to stay busy and fight Tate.
Apparently UFC didn’t have the easiest time finding an opponent to fight Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in her Octagon debut at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil in May.
UFC’s General Manager in Brazil, Giovanni Decker, spoke with MMAFighting.com this week and spoke about the process of finding someone to fight the reigning Invicta FC Featherweight Champion.
“We didn’t think it would be impossible (to have Cyborg at UFC 198) because we knew someone would accept the fight,” Decker said during a media scrum in Brazil. “I won’t mention names because I protect the fighters, but many athletes declined. Many names, really. You can say tens of fighters. But we were positive that someone would say yes.”
Headlined by Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Title and featuring Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Anderson Silva vs. Urijah Hall and Cris Cyborg vs. Leslie Smith, UFC 198 takes place on May 14, 2016 from Curitiba, Brazil.
Apparently UFC didn’t have the easiest time finding an opponent to fight Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in her Octagon debut at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil in May.
UFC’s General Manager in Brazil, Giovanni Decker, spoke with MMAFighting.com this week and spoke about the process of finding someone to fight the reigning Invicta FC Featherweight Champion.
“We didn’t think it would be impossible (to have Cyborg at UFC 198) because we knew someone would accept the fight,” Decker said during a media scrum in Brazil. “I won’t mention names because I protect the fighters, but many athletes declined. Many names, really. You can say tens of fighters. But we were positive that someone would say yes.”
Headlined by Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Title and featuring Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Anderson Silva vs. Urijah Hall and Cris Cyborg vs. Leslie Smith, UFC 198 takes place on May 14, 2016 from Curitiba, Brazil.
Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino is finally making her way into the UFC after several years of speculation that it could be happening. In her UFC debut, Cyborg is set to fight Leslie Smith at UFC 198 on May 14. “Leslie is a very tough girl, most of her fights end by decision,”
Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino is finally making her way into the UFC after several years of speculation that it could be happening. In her UFC debut, Cyborg is set to fight Leslie Smith at UFC 198 on May 14.
“Leslie is a very tough girl, most of her fights end by decision,” Cyborg told TMZ Sports. “I don’t know if it will be a KO or submission, but I do know it will be worthy of a UFC performance bonus from Dana White.”
When asked about a possible fight with former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, Cyborg is up for the challenge.
“Since she is no longer the champ, and I am officially in the UFC,” she said, “I do not see any reason why the fight between us can’t happen.”
She even gave a possible location for the fight.
“I realize Holly Holm kicked her into retirement, but maybe after [UFC 198] we could settle the feud in New York when the UFC comes to Madison Square Garden.
“If Ronda is still retired, or has thought of a few more excuses to not fight me, then maybe Holly Holm or Miesha Tate are willing to fight. I want to make the biggest fights the fans want to see.”
The 30-year-old Justino (15-1, 1 NC) is unbeaten for over 10 years, and with 13 of her 15 pro wins coming by knockout, it’s not surprising that she has soared to the top of every organization she has competed in. Owner of victories over Gina Carano, Marloes Coenen (twice), and Shayna Baszler, the former Strikeforce champion has compiled a 5-0 record with five knockouts as a member of the Invicta FC roster.
Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp isn’t closing the door on Cris “Cyborg” Justino competing again for her all-female promotion.
While it was announced on Monday that Justino (15-1) will make her Octagon debut at UFC 198 vs. Leslie Smith, Knapp told…
Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp isn’t closing the door on Cris “Cyborg” Justino competing again for her all-female promotion.
While it was announced on Monday that Justino (15-1) will make her Octagon debut at UFC 198 vs. Leslie Smith, Knapp told MMAFighting.com that she is not considering vacating her featherweight title at the moment.
Justino won the title in 2013 with a fourth round TKO vs. Marloes Coenen and has successfully defended it three times since. All three bout have ended inside of the first round.
“Anything is always up to (the UFC and Justino), so it could be whatever,” Knapp said. “I think this is probably a situation, too, where they’re trying it out. Who knows? I am not quite sure what the long-term plan is or if anybody does at this point.
“Cris has expressed interest in coming back and defending her belt. At this point, it is not vacated.”
Justino and Smith will be competing at 140 pounds in May. Zuffa, which owns and operates the UFC, added Invicta FC to Fight Pass last year.
Leslie Smith isn’t just planning on showing up at UFC 198 and cashing a check when she meets Cris “Cyborg” Justino.
Smith, a veteran of the sport and coming off a win over Rin Nakai, sees the chance to face Justino in her Octagon debut as the “bigge…
Leslie Smith isn’t just planning on showing up at UFC 198 and cashing a check when she meets Cris “Cyborg” Justino.
Smith, a veteran of the sport and coming off a win over Rin Nakai, sees the chance to face Justino in her Octagon debut as the “biggest opportunity of my career.”
The biggest non-title UFC fight for women ever.. Biggest opportunity of my career. Hell yeah I wanted this fight! https://t.co/FPQJWSCHWU
(Finally, the superfight that UFC fans have been demanding for years is coming together.)
Like XYIENCE energy drinks and the music of Stemm, the idea of seeing Cris Cyborg fight in the UFC has been long abandoned by the majority of MMA fans. It seemed like a very real possibility a few years back, but then Tito Ortiz went and messed everything up like the blockhead that we know him to be. Between Cyborg’s failed attempts to make 135 pounds and Ronda Rousey‘s fall from grace in the time since, the former Strikeforce featherweight champion (and current Invicta champion) has found herself with a lower stock value than possibly ever before.
But now, it seems that all is about to change for one of the sport’s scariest competitors.
(Finally, the superfight that UFC fans have been demanding for years is coming together.)
Like XYIENCE energy drinks and the music of Stemm, the idea of seeing Cris Cyborg fight in the UFC has been long abandoned by the majority of MMA fans. It seemed like a very real possibility a few years back, but then Tito Ortiz went and messed everything up like the blockhead that we know him to be. Between Cyborg’s failed attempts to make 135 pounds and Ronda Rousey‘s fall from grace in the time since, the former Strikeforce featherweight champion (and current Invicta champion) has found herself with a lower stock value than possibly ever before.
But now, it seems that all is about to change for one of the sport’s scariest competitors.
This morning, UFC officials confirmed that Ms. Justino has finally booked her debut fight:
One of the most feared fighters in the world is finally making her way to the Octagon, as Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino faces Leslie Smith at UFC 198 on May 14.
The bout, which takes place at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil, will be held at a catchweight of 140 pounds.
This is, obviously, a rather historic moment for both women’s MMA and the UFC. In booking its first-ever women’s catchweight bout, the UFC might just be stating its intention to eventually establish some higher female weight classes down the line. Now that the allure of not only Ronda Rousey, but the person to beat her has been shattered, we may very well see the UFC start branching out its female divisions in order to find the next “unstoppable” champion to promote to mainstream audiences.
There’s no doubt that Cyborg could be that person, in any case. She may not be “undefeated” (having dropped her very first professional fight back in 2005) or ever wind up on the cover of SI’s swimsuit edition (then again…), but Justino did kick off 2016 by defending her Invicta title for the third time in a fashion that should serve as a terrifying reminder of her capabilities. Against the 8-6-1 Smith, she will also likely have another highlight reel finish on her hands to carry into a fight with whoever emerges from this Rouse-Tate-Holm car wreck.
That’s if she actually can make 135 pounds, of course, which we’re not entirely convinced she can.
UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic goes down on May 14, 2016 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.
