Fans have been wanting to see Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino fight Ronda Rousey since the UFC implemented the women's bantamweight division at the end of 2012. The fight hasn't been made due to myriad reasons, including Justino not wanting an eight-fight contract with the UFC when the the announcement was made and Rousey insisting the former Strikeforce women's featherweight champion drop down to her weight class of 135 pounds.
It was revealed Monday that Justino will finally make her long-awaited UFC debut, not against Rousey but Leslie Smith at UFC 198 on May 14.
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Many expect the current Invicta FC 145-pound champ to roll over Smith, and then talk will focus again on a showdown with Rousey, the former UFC champion. Justino doesn't believe think a bout will ever happen, and she says she isn't to blame for that.
"I think the Ronda Rousey fight will never happen because she doesn’t want to have the fight," Justino told Sporting News. "She was a world champion before and she can do whatever she wants to do. The same as (Conor) McGregor. He’s a world champion and said "OK, I want to fight at catchweight and he fights at catchweight. And she could have done the same thing but she hides and said 'Oh, she (Justino) got to make 135, she speaks bad things about me and you never stepped into the cage (Octagon). I don’t like to fight outside the cage. I like to fight inside the cage. I think the fans want to watch this fight."
MMA fans thought Justino would never fight in the UFC due to the company not having a women's 145-pound division and the inability to make a Rousey fight. The Brazilian wasn't too sure if she would ever compete inside the Octagon. She knew, though, if she worked hard and kept doing what she was doing, the opportunity would come.
"I was thinking it was far away because they don’t have my division and then they say they would never have my division," Justino said. "I just trained and trained and make the best of the place I’d be at, Invicta or another event. And in a way I knew the opportunity would come. I just had to keep doing great work."
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can find his podcast, The Fight Club Chicago, and subscribe on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher and You Tube. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
