UFC 207 Matchmaker: Cris Cyborg vs. Ronda Rousey

It’s the fight we’ve all been waiting a long time for. Cris Cyborg vs. Ronda Rousey is one of those matches that’s been talked about for years, but has never quite reached an agreement. During Rousey’s reign as UFC women’s bantamweight champion, the subject of fighting Cyborg was hotly debated. Going much deeper than just

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It’s the fight we’ve all been waiting a long time for. Cris Cyborg vs. Ronda Rousey is one of those matches that’s been talked about for years, but has never quite reached an agreement. During Rousey’s reign as UFC women’s bantamweight champion, the subject of fighting Cyborg was hotly debated. Going much deeper than just two elite WWMA stars colliding, the Rousey-Cyborg saga has seen many twists and turns. Before Rousey had even stepped foot in the Strikeforce cage, any cage for that matter, Cristiane Justino had won the promotion’s inaugural featherweight championship. Defeating one of the pioneers of women’s MMA, Gina Carano, Cyborg was crowned queen in 2009.

Finding her own stride in 2011, a fresh-faced former Olympic Judoka named Ronda Rousey progressed to 4-0 as a professional. Facing Miesha Tate in 2012, ‘Rowdy’ decided to drop from featherweight to bantamweight, winning the Strikeforce 135-pound title. Two months prior to Rousey’s first title win it was announced that Cyborg had tested positive for Stanozolol. This would prove to be one of many future barriers to the fight we were all dying to see.

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The Rivalry

Following one title defense against Julia Budd, Ronda Rousey crossed over to the UFC with a submission win over Liz Carmouche. In April 2013 Cristiane Justino had completed her one-year suspension, and returned to defeat Fiona Muxlow under the Invicta FC banner. Fighting once more in 2013, both Cyborg and ‘Rowdy’ scored pivotal career win. After a stint as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, Rousey and her old rival Miesha Tate collided in a rematch at UFC 168. With the spotlight firmly fixed on her, ‘Rowdy’ scored her eighth straight armbar victory.

‘Rousey’s’ Brazilian counterpart would claim the Invicta featherweight strap after punishing Marloes Coenen, also a rematch of their 2010 encounter. It was at this point that the Rousey vs. Cyborg train began gaining steam, and their rivalry became big news. Taking aim at Cyborg in a number of controversial rants, Rousey mocked the Brazilian over her failed drug test. Even UFC president Dana White joined in, as Justino’s character was well and truly put on blast.

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Continuation

Taking a break from MMA after her 2013 title win for Invicta FC, Cyborg returned to Muay Thai. Defeating Jennifer Colomb by TKO at Lion Fight 11, the Brazilian knockout artist fought for the welterweight title against seasoned Thai boxing veteran Jorina Baars. Justino lost by unanimous decision, but it was a very respectable performance against such a high level pure striker. Rousey had competed once during this period, a TKO victory over Sara McMann.

The rivalry continued between the two titans of WMMA, as weight now seemed to be the major issue. Appearing to lay down some ground rules, Dana White and Ronda Rousey demanded a clean drug test from Cris Cyborg, and the bantamweight champion refused to move out of her own weight class for the bout. Cyborg’s manager of the time, Tito Ortiz, believed his client could indeed make 135 pounds, and so the fight edged closer to reality. As we now know, there’s no way the Brazilian would ever make close to the bantamweight limit.

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Different Directions?

Although their careers had run strangely parallel, a shift in direction was coming. As anticipation for their long-awaited clash reached fever pitch, negotiations began falling apart. Ronda Rousey would close out 2014 with a KO win over Alexis Davis at UFC 175. ‘Rowdy’ was now the biggest draw in the UFC, and she used her time in the limelight to further slander Cyborg’s name. Fighting within 24 hours of each other, in the same city, Rousey and Justino each scored sub-minute wins in Los Angeles, California in February 2015.

Invicta FC had struck a deal with UFC Fight Pass, the promotion’s growing digital network. Cyborg would go on to wow the crowds with a crushing TKO against Faith Van Duin in 45 seconds. Just three weeks after, Rousey smashed Bethe Correia with a clean 34-second KO at UFC 190. The accolades came pouring in for the ever-popular Rousey, and rumours of a December clash with Cyborg spread like wildfire. There was certainly a monster fight set for that winter, but it would not involve Cyborg.

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The Holm Coming

Holly Holm smashed through the indestructible aura of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193. In front of millions of viewers, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ toppled the bantamweight queen and ended her reign with a brutal KO. Oddly enough, this crazy moment could prove to be the catalyst of Cyborg vs. Rousey finally happening. The fallen champ has not fought again since that December night. Justino, however, crossed over to the UFC after one more Invicta title defense, and has squashed Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg so far in 2016.

Again, there’s the issue of weight, as the promotion is clearly not motivated to make a women’s featherweight division. Cyborg is forced to cut brutal amounts just to make the catchweight of 140 pounds, but herein lies a beautiful possibility. With no belt to cling to, Ronda Rousey would be free to jump up to 140 pounds in an attempt to settle the feud with Cris Cyborg.

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Weighting Game

With UFC 206 looking filled, there’s one big pay-per-view card left on the 2016 horizon. UFC 207 on December 30, and guess who’s rumoured to be returning by year’s end? Yep, former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Anyone else got a better idea for ‘Rowdy’s’ comeback fight than a clash with Cris Cyborg?

Two careers that have been following the same linear sequence for so long, have inspired so many debates over the years, should meet. Its meant to be.

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Cris Cyborg Promises To Break Ronda Rousey’s Face

Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino has continued her verbal assault on former UFC bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. Rousey hasn’t competed since last November after she surrendered her title in brutal fashion to Holly Holm at UFC 193, but Justino, who scored yet another devastating stoppage victory over Lina Lansberg at last month’s

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Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino has continued her verbal assault on former UFC bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey.

Rousey hasn’t competed since last November after she surrendered her title in brutal fashion to Holly Holm at UFC 193, but Justino, who scored yet another devastating stoppage victory over Lina Lansberg at last month’s UFC Fight Night 95, recently called out the ex-champion for a fight at the UFC’s card on super bowl weekend.

Rousey has laid low in the media throughout the last year, and her return has not yet been confirmed, but UFC President Dana White recently said that she was interested in finally facing off with the Brazilian slugger. “Cyborg”, however, says that if the fight is to ever take place, Rousey will need surgery when it’s all said and done:

“My last fight, I broke the nose of the girl in three places,” Cyborg told Jason Whitlock on FS1’s “Speak For Yourself”. “Sure, if I fight her she’ll have to do surgery on her face after. I’m not kidding.”

“Ronda doesn’t say anything,” Cyborg said. “She doesn’t even say my name. She used [UFC president] Dana White and her mother to talk to me, because she knows if she says my name, she’ll have to fight me. She knows this.”

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Cyborg Sent Rousey This Fortune Cookie

Prior to Rousey’s sudden downfall last year, fans around the world fathomed over the idea of a potential super fight between her and Justino, hoping to see “Rousey’s” Olympic Judo skills go up against Justino’s tremendous knockout power. “Cyborg”, however, has never seemed to be concerned with Rousey, especially on the feet, and she’s not sure if the former champion will return to form after the loss she suffered:

“I watched her do shadow box and the shadow won,” Cyborg said. “Maybe that means when Mike Tyson lose his fight by KO, he never the same. Maybe it means that Ronda lost her last fight and she’s never the same. But not because she KOs people. She never did this.”

Do you ever expect to see this bout take place?

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Cris Cyborg: Hey Ronda, Accept My Challenge, Or Are You Saving Face?

The heated rivalry between Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg lives on. The former women’s bantamweight queen fell to earth with a bang at UFC 193. Dishing out the harsh realities of the game in Melbourne was vaunted striker Holly Holm. ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ dominated ‘Rowdy’ in an upset performance of the year. Although she only

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The heated rivalry between Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg lives on. The former women’s bantamweight queen fell to earth with a bang at UFC 193. Dishing out the harsh realities of the game in Melbourne was vaunted striker Holly Holm. ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ dominated ‘Rowdy’ in an upset performance of the year. Although she only held the belt until her first defense against Miesha Tate, Holm left a mammoth left shin print in the MMA history books.

Now nearly a year removed from that historic PPV down under, everyone is talking about Cyborg. The Brazilian knockout artist is two fights deep in to her UFC career, but not without complications. Without a women’s featherweight division in sight, Cyborg is having to cut down to 140 pounds. The catchweight limit is proving to be a massive physical drain for Justino. That being said, she looks like a world beater in her UFC fights so far.

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Cyborg in the UFC

Cris Cyborg debuted at UFC 198 with a stunning TKO win over Leslie Smith. She advanced to 2-0 at UFC Brasilia on September 24, this time it was Muay Thai specialist Lina Lansberg getting smashed in two rounds. Since the fight Lansberg has stated she’s ‘never felt power’ like Justino’s. That’s quite a compliment coming from a Thai boxing champion. Then came the comments from her old rival Ronda Rousey.

‘Rowdy’ said she still wants to fight Cyborg ‘at some point,’ and the Brazilian responded with a much more specific challenge:

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Let’s Be Honest

In all honesty, this is the only fight that would make sense for either fighter right now. That might prove to be quite a challenged statement, but who really wants to see Rousey go for a title shot when we all know Cyborg is the biggest challenge? That’s absolutely no offense to Amanda Nunes or any of the other top bantamweights, but this fight has been eagerly anticipated for years.

Thoughts?

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Cris Cyborg Calls Out Ronda Rousey For Madison Square Garden Fight

Bulldozing 145-pound Invicta FC champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino finally made her long-awaited Octagon debut on the main card of last night’s (May 14, 2016) UFC 198 from her home of Curitiba, Brazil. Justino has long been considered to be one of the most feared female fighters on the planet, and she showed why last night

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Bulldozing 145-pound Invicta FC champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino finally made her long-awaited Octagon debut on the main card of last night’s (May 14, 2016) UFC 198 from her home of Curitiba, Brazil.

Justino has long been considered to be one of the most feared female fighters on the planet, and she showed why last night when she demolished Leslie Smith in just over a minute in their 140-pound catch weight bout.

“Cyborg” has always been linked to a potential super fight with previously dominant bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, but the weight discrepancy along with the fact that Justino wasn’t signed with the UFC had always prevented that.

Now with one of the two barriers out of the way, and the weight appearing to be less of an issue, the fight may become more of a reality, although “Cyborg” opted not to call the “Rowdy” one out last night:

“I believe it was my moment. Tonight was my moment, it was historic.” Cyborg told FOX Sports. “I never thought I’d be sitting here tonight. I never thought I’d be here after everything I went through and it’s a historic moment for me. Talking about her is something that people are going to talk about, but I let my fans decide on who my opponent will be and I just have to be ready.”

Touching on the weight, Justino admitted that she felt strong last night, but also revealed that she’d like to continue to defend her Invicta strap:

“I’ve been training for two years to be able to make weight yesterday. And I felt very well tonight and I believe I can do other superfights, but I’m going to continue my weight class,” she said. “I’ve been the champion for some time and I want female MMA to grow, and I don’t think it’s the right thing for me to abandon my weight class.”

Less than 24 hours after her first UFC victory, it appears as if “Cyborg” has enjoyed her moment enough, taking to her official Twitter account to call out Rousey for a potential fight at UFC 205 this November in New York:

Rousey has been out of action since shockingly being knocked out by Holly Holm last November, and it’s expected that she’ll return at Madison Square Garden, although likely in a title fight.

Could you see the UFC booking Rousey vs. “Cyborg”?

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Cyborg: Ronda Rousey Knew It Was Impossible For Me To Make 135

Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino is finally set to make her UFC debut in a catchweight bout against Leslie Smith at May 14’s UFC 198 from Curitiba, Brazil. Although it won’t be the long sought upon super fight with former bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey, it is a good sign to see the Brazilian

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Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino is finally set to make her UFC debut in a catchweight bout against Leslie Smith at May 14’s UFC 198 from Curitiba, Brazil.

Although it won’t be the long sought upon super fight with former bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey, it is a good sign to see the Brazilian slugger finally make her way over to the Octagon.

One thing to note, however, is that the UFC doesn’t have a featherweight division for female fighters. With that being said, Justino will likely have to continuously fight at catchweights, or find some way to cut down to the 135 pound limit.

While some fighters, including reigning UFC champion Miesha Tate, have expressed their willingness to fight “Cyborg” at a catchweight, Rousey has never seemed to budge.

Recently speaking on the matter, Justino admitted that a fighter can’t be pushed into a fight, although she is hopeful that Rousey will accept a bout at 140 pounds with her upon the “Rowdy” one’s return:

“You know, you can’t push a fighter into a fight, it’s better for them to compete because they want to challenge themselves. I like to challenge myself. I’m an MMA world champ, but I fought the Muay Thai world champ because I like to challenge myself. Maybe I’ll lose, maybe I’ll win, but I’ll be getting better.”

“I think when Ronda comes back to fight, all of the fans want to watch me fight her. She has talked about me in the past, she has pushed the idea of this fight, but after that said I had to make 135lbs to fight her, because she knew it was impossible for me. Now I’m in a 140lbs catchweight division, so if she wants to challenge herself and not just talk, we can make the fight happen.” Justino told Bloody Elbow.

As far as Tate and Holly Holm, another former UFC champion, go, “Cyborg” respects them all, but once again admits that she can’t make these highly intriguing bouts happen herself:

“I respect Holly Holm. She’s a great fighter and she has had big changes in her life now. She’s a good person. Miesha Tate is a good person too. I’m here to fight anyone, but fighters either want to challenge themselves or not, and I can’t change that. I can only control myself and challenge myself, so I just have to focus on May 14th, making 140lbs and fighting Leslie Smith.”

What do you expect from “Cyborg’s” future in the UFC?

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The Cyborg Talk Is Ramping Up For UFC 198

Reigning Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino may finally be making her UFC debut in the near future. While it most certainly won’t be the long sought-after super fight against former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC is considering booking Justino at May’s UFC 198 in her

The post The Cyborg Talk Is Ramping Up For UFC 198 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Reigning Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino may finally be making her UFC debut in the near future.

While it most certainly won’t be the long sought-after super fight against former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC is considering booking Justino at May’s UFC 198 in her home of Brazil.

The fearsome slugger recently expressed her desire in fighting at this event:

“It has been almost 10 years since I last fought in my home country of Brazil,” Justino recently wrote on her website. “I am very lucky that over the last decade my Brazilian fans have continued to support me and my career as I chased my dreams as a world champion, while living and competing in America.”

“This May the UFC will be promoting an event in my hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, a city very rich in fight history. It would be an honor to return back to the city I was born in, and to step inside of the Octagon with an opportunity to prove myself as one of the best female fighters in the sport.”

It would be interesting to see what the UFC could come up with given the fact that the promotion doesn’t currently have a women’s 145-pound division.

Aside from Rousey, however, reigning 135-pound queen Miesha Tate, as well as former champion Holly Holm have both previously voiced their interest in a bout with “Cyborg”. Tate recently defeated Holm via submission at March 5’s UFC 196, and “The Preacher’s Daughter” has already stated she wants to get back into the Octagon as soon as possible.

Although it’s very short notice, a catchweight bout at 140 versus “Cyborg” would be a massive draw for the already packed card, which features heavyweight legend Fabricio Werdum defending his belt against Stipe Miocic.

Justino, who has attempted to cut down to bantamweight in the past, is well aware that the UFC doesn’t host her division at the moment:

“I know that the UFC does not have my division,” Justino recently wrote, “which is why I am asking my fans to help make this fight.”

A knockout machine, “Cyborg” has long been a household name amongst female fighters, and her jump to the UFC has always seemed inevitable given her drawing power.

Could that move be coming as soon as May?

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