Ronda Rousey News: 'Cyborg' Justino No Longer Chasing 'Rowdy'
Current Invicta Fighting Championships featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino is no longer thrilled about fighting long-time on-paper rival and former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
Both Cyborg and Rousey have been throwing verbal barbs at each other over the last few years already. It became the most heated in the middle of this year when "Rowdy" accused Justino of being on steroids. In an August report by FOX Sports, Rousey first reiterated that she would not be fighting at any other weight division in the UFC except for the bantamweight division.
She then put Cyborg on blast, alleging that the former Strikeforce featherweight champion is on illegal substances. "She can fight at 145 pumped full of steroids and she can make weight just like everybody else without them," Rousey said of Justino, according to the Fox Sports report.
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Cyborg has made numerous responses, mostly challenging Rousey to a fight. But after Holly Holm knocked out the Olympic judoka with a single head kick at UFC 193 in mid-November, Cyborg seems to have changed her tune.
Speaking to Andreas Hale of Yahoo! Sports, Justino says that while she is still open to fighting her long-time rival, the fight needs to happen within the terms she is most comfortable with.
"However, if she wants to be the best she needs to beat the best, and that's me at my best, not a depleted mirror of myself - which is what she is hoping for by forcing me to 135," Justino said.
While Rousey did experience her first ever career defeat in the hands of Holm, she still remains to be a big draw among fans. Being on the cover of EA Sports' UFC 2 is proof to it.
Despite this, Cyborg is still hopeful for a fight with Rousey down the line, or something in the near future. This time around, however, the Brazilian veteran fighter says she would not be doing the "chasing" anymore.
"After all, didn't she say 'You come to the champ?' I have been a world champion for 10 years!" she said, according to Yahoo! Sports.
