Cris 'Cyborg': Holly Holm, Cat Zingano made mistake by not fighting me sooner at 140

Newly crowned UFC women’s featherweight champion Cristiane Justino accused Cat Zingano and ex-bantamweight champ Holly Holm of ducking previous offers to fight, but said she’s now ready to take on either one.

“I accepted Cat and Holly as an opponent for both #ufc198 and #ufcbrasilia and was told neither would fight me in Brazil,” Justino (18-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) wrote today on Twitter. “I asked for both to replace (Megan Anderson) when she pulled out (of UFC 214) after making such a (campaign) for the fight and was told they both declined.

“They should have fought me at 140. I’m the best I’ve ever been in my career with my return to 145 and am ready for either next.”

At this past Saturday’s UFC 214, Justino added another belt to her collection with a third-round stoppage of Tonya Evinger (19-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who accepted the bout after Invicta FC featherweight champ Anderson withdrew citing personal issues.

Justino, who claimed the vacant belt after inaugural champ Germaine de Randamie refused to face her, said after her title win that she would fight whomever the UFC puts in front of her. But UFC President Dana White seems to favor a bout with Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC), one of the matches he said Justino turned down for the inaugural title at UFC 208.

This past year, Holm turned down a fight with Justino at UFC 198 and wound up fighting Valentina Shevchenko one year ago at UFC on FOX 20. With Justino now holding the belt, White said the ex-champ is interested.

Zingano (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) today told “The MMA Hour” that she was almost one of Justino’s opponents, accepting a bout early this past year. But she was told the Brazilian champ turned it down.

Today, Justino responded with her side of the story in the aforementioned series of tweets.

Justino defeated Leslie Smith at UFC 198 in her octagon debut, and then went on to beat Lina Lansberg at UFC Fight Night 95. She took the bouts at 140 pounds with the intention of making bantamweight for a fight with now-former champ Ronda Rousey, but swore off the move after two brutal weight cuts for her first two appearances.

For more on UFC 214, check out the UFC Events section of the site.