UFC Done with Cris “Cyborg” Santos

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has severed ties with Cris “Cyborg” Santos.

UFC president Dana White confirmed Santos’ release when talking with the media following the UFC on Fuel TV 7 pre-fight press conference on Wednesday.

Asked if Santos is done with the company, White responded, “Yeah.”

“I’m telling you right now, she wants nothing to do with this fight with Ronda (Rousey),” he immediately continued. “This is the biggest show in the world.  We’re working with her to get her a deal or whatever.  When you send a letter from your lawyer and your doctor saying I will die if I try to make 135 (pounds), it’s just the goofiest thing. I’ve never seen anything like it in the fight business.

“Okay, so you don’t want to make 135, but you want to talk about fighting Ronda. First of all, you tested positive for steroids and got stripped of your title. And you’re trying to talk about how Ronda doesn’t want to fight you, but she’s the champion at 135. If Ronda goes and does the fight at 140 and does the fight at 140, it’s not even for a title. The fight just makes no sense.”

The UFC tried to get Santos fights outside of the organization because there is no 145-pound women’s division in the UFC.  They proposed getting her fights in Invicta FC, but Santos didn’t like the idea.

“So what happens is, so we’ll figure something out where Cyborg gets some fights. Ronda defends her title a few times. Then maybe Ronda moves up to whatever and fights… they want nothing to do with that, wants nothing to do with it.  It’s wacky beyond wackiness,” stated White.

“There is no 145-pound women’s division. She’s under contract with us, so we’d get her some fights somewhere else.  We get her some fights.  Let’s play this 135-pound thing out and see what happens, see where this thing goes.  No.”

Women’s fighting in the UFC centers around the 135-pound division, a division Santos can’t or is unwilling to make. So women fighting in the UFC moves on without Santos.

“This women’s thing is coming together.  When I talk to Joe (Silva) and Sean Shelby, we have 10 of the best 135-pounders in the world. We’re gonna do this division.  We’re going to see how this fight goes down or whatever,” said White.

“Cyborg is pretty much irrelevant right now. She really is. She’s irrelevant.  Go out there and win some fights again, get your name back, stay clean, stay off some steroids and get your career back on track and then we’ll talk.  But for her to think that everybody should move around and jump through hoops for her is insane.”