It seems like we’ve been down this road before, no?
But once again on Friday, Cristiane Justino urged Ronda Rousey to move up from bantamweight to fight her at 140 pounds. And she said she wants the fight more than she wants Rousey’s 135-pound UFC title.
“All fighters want to be a champ in the UFC,” Justino said on FOX Sports 1’s “UFC Tonight” on Friday. “I think for now, it’d be great to see me and Ronda fight. I don’t want her belt. I just want to fight her. Let’s go fight. Let’s go meet at 140. Let’s do it.”
“Cyborg” has been linked to a fight with Rousey for years, but her weight has been a constant barrier. Justino (13-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) fights at featherweight and is the Invicta FC 145-pound champion. Rousey (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is the UFC’s dominant bantamweight titleholder. The two are widely considered the best fighters in women’s MMA.
In February, it was revealed that Justino is contracted to the UFC roster, despite the fact she competes for Invicta FC. She defended her featherweight title with a 46-second knockout of Charmaine Tweet at Invicta FC 11 in February.
A drop to bantamweight has long been discussed, with varying degrees of opinions on whether “Cyborg” can make the weight, or if it’s safe for her to do so. UFC President Dana White earlier this spring said Justino will work on making 135 pounds, and if she can do that, perhaps a fight with Rousey would be on the horizon.
Next up for Rousey is her first MMA fight outside the United States. She’ll put her title on the line at UFC 190 against Bethe Correia in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 1 – in Correia’s home country of Brazil. Brazil’s Justino will defend her title against Faith Van Duin at Invicta FC 13 on July 10 in Las Vegas. After that, the talk about bantamweight will continue.
“I have a professional nutritional guy and he helped me make 145 much easier,” Justino said. “I can 100 percent make it. I’m ready for this fight. When (Rousey) was in Strikeforce, I wanted to make the fight. I try 100 percent to make 135. It’s annoying. I want to fight her.”
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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