'Cyborg' Justino: 'I'm not going to wait' for UFC champ Germaine de Randamie

Cristiane Justino said she won’t wait for Germaine de Randamie if the newly minted UFC women’s featherweight champion needs an extended layoff.

“If de Randamie isn’t ready for the fight, probably I’m going to fight the No. 1 contender for the belt,” Justino told MMAjunkie.

The question now is whether a new foe will be needed. On Monday de Randamie (8-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) reversed course after announcing she would need surgery on her hand and requested an immediate rematch with Holly Holm (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), whom she defeated in a controversial decision at UFC 208.

Holm wants a rematch, but her camp has expressed reservations about the offer. De Randamie’s rep said Monday that a doctor will ultimately determine whether she’s able to fight in the near future.

“Cyborg” (17-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) said she’s without a doubt the No. 1 contender, provided she receives a retroactive therapeutic-use exemption from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which, as a UFC partner, temporarily suspended her after she failed an out-of-competition drug test. She and her rep declined to comment on the pending case, but Justino said she’s recovering from the health issues that forced her to turn down the UFC’s offers for a featherweight title bout. Now, she will wait to see what UFC doctors have to say about de Randamie’s injury.

“This isn’t on me,” Justino said. “The UFC has to handle it, and I just have to keep training. If she has to do surgery on her hands, for sure, the UFC is going to care about this.”

Lately, the promotion hasn’t been shy about putting up interim titles when injury layoffs hold up a division. Justino didn’t dismiss the idea but balked at the idea of fighting Holm, an opponent she was supposed to meet at UFC 198 before Holm’s camp turned it down.

“Holly has three losses in a row; I don’t think I’m going to fight her,” Justino said. “I haven’t lost in a long time, and I don’t think this fight makes sense. I think she needs to win to fight.”

Justino said if the promotion needs a ready-made contender, it should call Megan Anderson (8-2), who claimed the Invicta FC interim title upon Justino’s departure to the UFC. But in the end, Justino said, de Randamie needs to step up. She claimed the champ knew the opponent that would be waiting if she won the title.

“She doesn’t have to want,” Justino said. “She has to fight me. I’m the No. 1 contender. I’m the world champion for 10 years, and she already knows, when she defends the belt, the next fight will be me.”

And when it happens, Justino is very confident about the outcome.

“I feel like I’m an MMA a fighter, and she’s just a striker,” she said. “And we’re going to fight in MMA. I’ll be prepared for any situation. We’ll have to see if she’s prepared for any situation.”

For complete coverage of UFC 208, check out the UFC Events section of the site.