We’re going to have to wait a little longer to see if Cristiane Justino can make 135 pounds.
Justino was scheduled to fight at bantamweight for the very first time at Invicta FC 10. Alas, the MMA gods are cruel and spiteful creatures. “Cyborg” recently sustained an ankle injury (a tear of her anterior talofibular ligament, according to Sherdog) and won’t be able to fight.
BUMMER.
(Photo via Getty)
We’re going to have to wait a little longer to see if Cristiane Justino can make 135 pounds.
Justino was scheduled to fight at bantamweight for the very first time at Invicta FC 10. Alas, the MMA gods are cruel and spiteful creatures. “Cyborg” recently sustained an ankle injury (a tear of her anterior talofibular ligament, according to Sherdog) and won’t be able to fight.
BUMMER.
The biggest hurdle to Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino vs. Ronda Rousey has always been the weight issue. Rousey fights at bantamweight and Cyborg always claimed she couldn’t make that weight — this was until July when she announced she was going to finally fight at 135 pounds.
If she made bantamweight in Invicta (a quasi-appendage of the UFC) and won, it’s not presumptuous to think Cyborg might wind up in the UFC fighting Ronda Rousey at some point in the near future.
But no such luck, at least for now.
By the way, speaking of Invicta, there was an Invicta event on last night: Invicta FC 9. The full results are below if you’re interested:
Barb Honchak def. Takayo Hashi via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Mizuki Inoue via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Raquel Pa’aluhi def. Kaitlin Young via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jodie Esquibel def. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Amber Brown def. Liz McCarthy via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Amanda Bell def. Maria Hougaard Djursaa via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:56
Andrea K. Lee def. Shannon Sinn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jamie Moyle def. Jenny Liou via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Kelly McGill def. Maegan Goodwin via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
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).
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!
Ronda Rousey kneed Sara McMann into oblivion in a minute…or at least Herb Dean thought McMann had been kneed into oblivion. MMA fans were split about that part. Some thought the stoppage was deserved—McMann stopped intelligently defending herself when she crumpled to the mat clutching her sides. Others disagreed, citing the fact that McMann managed to rise to her feet immediately after Dean called off the bout (an intrepid Wikipedia vandal belonged to this school of thought).
The irritating ruckus that follows any disputed stoppage polluted Twitter and message boards before Rousey’s hand was even raised. MMA fans were (and still are) pissed.
Ronda Rousey kneed Sara McMann into oblivion in a minute…or at least Herb Dean thought McMann had been kneed into oblivion. MMA fans were split about that part. Some thought the stoppage was deserved—McMann stopped intelligently defending herself when she crumpled to the mat clutching her sides. Others disagreed, citing the fact that McMann managed to rise to her feet immediately after Dean called off the bout (an intrepid Wikipedia vandal belonged to this school of thought).
The irritating ruckus that follows any disputed stoppage polluted Twitter and message boards before Rousey’s hand was even raised. MMA fans were (and still are) pissed.
And that’s fantastic.
The UFC women’s bantamweight division is essentially a feeder system for Ronda Rousey, as well as a promotional vehicle for the conventionally attractive (they’ll never let you forget that) Judo star. Dana White admitted that he only allowed women in the UFC because of her. The rest of the division has no chance at taking the belt from her—did you seeAlexis Davis vs. Jessica Eye? Those women are two of the best in the weight class yet they’re both still milesastronomical units away from Rousey.
This formula of sacrificing over-matched fighters to the UFC’s sacred cash cow has worked. Ridiculous Dana White assertions aside, Rousey is one of the UFC’s only stars in a roster so bloated and bland that Lorenzo Fertitta himself probably couldn’t name half the fighters. Rousey is legitimately a super-awesome bad-ass who wrecks people and, to borrow Tomas Rios’ parlance, a Bro Queen. She’s tailor made for the MMA fan, from her unique Judo stylings down to the one-of-a-kind face she sports when walking to the cage. But as great as she is, the conveyor belt of challengers who pose no challenge will get boring.
After a while, fans will realize that the Woman to Beat Rousey™ conveniently always happens to be whoever she’s fighting next, and always gets destroyed anyway despite the hype of being Ronda’s “most dangerous opponent to date.” One day fans will get sick of Rousey crushing fighters that aren’t on her level in any aspect of MMA or even athleticism.
Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino seems the likely solution for this problem. She’s the only fighter scarier than Rousey. She’s so tough she made Gina Carano—then WMMA’s biggest star—retire after five minutes in the cage with her.
Too bad Dana White has zero interest in booking that fight, at least in the immediate future. Either he’s posturing, trying to downplay Justino’s value for the sake of negotiations, or he’s afraid that the female version of PRIDE-era Wanderlei Silva will slaughter his prized cash cow, Rousey. It seems White is content to not book what would be the biggest fight in WMMA history so Cyborg can continue to torture lesser fighters outside the UFC and Rousey can continue to torture lesser fighters inside the UFC.
Well what about famed boxer Holly Holm? She’s an impressive 6-0 in MMA and Rousey even expressed interest in fighting her. Too bad White doesn’t seem interested in that match either. This December he called Holm’s manager a “lunatic” and questioned the strength of Holm’s competition, insinuating she wasn’t UFC caliber (despite that term being obscenely meaningless in 2014).
The UFC doesn’t want to book the two biggest fights for Rousey. What’s left for her, then? Crushing the same cadre of women ad nauseam until she leaves for Hollywood or baby-making?
That’s why a controversial stoppage in Rousey vs. McMann was the best thing that could’ve happened. Many fans contested Herb Dean’s choice to stop the fight. The UFC can do the whole “Did Rousey REALLY beat McMann?” angle this time, and people will respond positively to it because it’s not a manufactured “OMG OLYMPIANS” gimmick. It’s appealing to the real emotions present. People felt the stoppage was BS, they want to see McMann fight Rousey again because she was doing well until Rousey’s knee smashed her liver.
The stoppage gave the UFC women’s bantamweight division a storyline—something to potentially look forward to other than clinch-throw-armbar-tap. And what if McMann gets a rematch and wins? Then WMMA will no-doubt have its first great trilogy when Rousey and McMann fight a third time. With Rousey’s star power it’ll be huge.
So let’s be thankful for Herb Dean’s questionable call, without it we’d have yawned and asked “who’s Rousey beating next?”
Justino made the announcement on Inside MMA this past Friday. Here is her statement in full:
“In reference to Ronda’s statement that I am looking for a payday so that I can retire, you’re right, I am looking for a payday to retire you like I did Gina Carano. But to show it’s not only about money, I challenge you to a fight – winner takes all. Or better yet let’s fight for FREE. ANYTIME! ANYWHERE! Ask your daddy Dana to make it happen.
My English is not that great, so sorry if I was misunderstood. I didn’t literally mean I would die if I made 135. What I meant was that my doctor recommended that I did not fight the rest of my career at 135, which is what the UFC wanted.
You have fought 154 in the Olympics and 145 in MMA. You can meet me at 140 easier than for me to go down to 135. The only reason you want the fight at 135 is because you feel that is your only chance because you hope the weight cut will affect me. You guys say I’m irrelevant, yet watch my highlights. The true MMA fans not only know me, but know I’m the best. Sad that you give the true MMA fans no recognition by saying that they don’t matter.
I’m currently training to fight at 145 on March 28 and in early May. My team has hired a medical doctor to help me make 135. I plan to challenge and win the Invicta 135 Championship in the summer and challenge you, champion to champion, for your 135 belt in December.
Now I know critics will say “I thought you said you would die if you made 135.” All I’m promising is that I will give 100 percent to try to get to 135 to make this plan happen. If I do, I will still listen to my doctor’s advice and fight no more than three times at 135: first to win the Invicta belt, the second time to kick your ass and the third time to kick your ass again so that the world can see it wasn’t luck. You can even have me tested every week up to the fight. That way you will not have an excuse after I kick your ass.”
Hard words from a hard woman. One would imagine that Justino’s drop to 135 would inevitably result in the oft-speculated about match with Ronda Rousey. Justino herself certainly seems to think so. And even though she’s still under contract with Invicta FC, her manager doesn’t think that’ll be an issue if the UFC wants to put the biggest women’s fight of all time together.
So, Potato Nation, if Cyborg and Rousey do lock horns, who wins?
