Ronday Rousey Would Have Taken the Fight to Save UFC 151 from Being Cancelled

Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime

Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is one of the hottest properties in mixed martial arts right now. She definitely sits atop the women’s side of the sport, her star power growing almost exponentially by the minute.

Rousey on Friday was a guest on ESPN’s SportsCenter, weighing in on several topics, but there were two that are at the fore of everyone’s mind right now: her feud with former Strikeforce featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos and the criticism swirling around UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his role in UFC 151 being cancelled.

As always, Rousey met both topics head on.

“(Cyborg) was caught doing steroids and everybody knew she was doing steroids for a long time. And I really don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to expect that when she’s not doing steroids she would lose some weight. I don’t really think that’s unreasonable to say,” Rousey commented in regards to her demands that Cyborg come down to the 135-pound bantamweight division if the two are to fight, instead Rousey moving up to featherweight, which is the primary bone of contention between the two.

“She really disgraced herself and her sport and her country by cheating all those years, and I really don’t think the way to deal with it is to reward her with a title shot with all the considerations she wants.”

Cyborg is sitting on the sidelines until at least December, due to a California-imposed suspension after she tested positive for steroids following her last fight.

If Cyborg still insists that a bout between the two must take place at 145 pounds, it’s of no consequence to Rousey.

“I think that (the fight) should happen and I think it’s her only option,” stated Rousey. “I have plenty of other options. So if she doesn’t want to do it, I’ll just move on.”

Moving on from Cyborg, Rousey was queried about a much more sensitive subject: how Jon Jones handled the situation regarding the cancellation of UFC 151 and turning down the fight to face Chael Sonnen on just eight days notice.

“If it was me. If Dana called me right now and said we need you to go in the back and fight Cris Cyborg with a 40-pound weight deficit and all you guys get is duct tape on your hands. I’d be like, ‘Can I be there in 10 minutes to stretch first?’” Rousey responded, but she did qualify that statement.

“I don’t have the kind of responsibilities he has, but I have been struggling for money and had a main event fall through on a card and then suddenly not have the money for rent. I mostly feel sorry for everybody on the undercard that has to find another way to pay their bills this month.

“I feel bad condemning him because I haven’t really talked to him about it and I don’t know his real reasons, but if it was me, I would have done it.”

Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more from Ronda Rousey and the UFC 151 cancellation fallout.