'Cyborg's' manager explains threat of lawsuit against UFC champ Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey

Cristiane Justino’s attorney and manager said the Invicta FC featherweight champion won’t stand by if UFC women’s bantamweight titleholder Ronda Rousey continues to accuse her of using steroids.

“We just want to make it clear to her that she’s being reckless with the truth, and if she continues to do that, then Cris is going to weigh her options,” George Prajin told MMAjunkie.

On Sunday, one day after Rousey’s (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) dominant 34-second win over Bethe Correia (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC 190, “Cyborg” (14-1) threatened legal action, via Twitter, over statements the UFC champ made in the run-up to her fight. Rousey said Justino needed to “get off the juice and fight in the division everybody else is in” to make their long-anticipated fight a reality.

Justino did, in fact, test positive for a steroid in 2011 under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner, which resulted in the stripping of her belt and a one-year suspension. But Prajin said Rousey’s statements indicate Justino is still using performance-enhancers and are defamatory.

“She would prefer that Ronda stop making those accusations because the evidence supports that she hasn’t used in the last four years,” he said.

Cristiane Justino

Rousey’s latest victory again turned up the heat on a showdown with “Cyborg,” who is expected to drop to 140 pounds for her next fight and recently called for a fight with onetime UFC title challenger Miesha Tate. However, UFC officials subsequently booked Tate as Rousey’s next opponent.

Prior to every fight, Rousey is asked about a potential fight with Justino, which usually leads to verbal fireworks.

Prajin acknowledged the UFC champ is afforded First Amendment protections for her speech and admitted libel lawsuits are difficult to win in court, particularly with anti-SLAPP laws – designed to limit harassing litigation against critics – in place in California, where both fighters reside.

But, he added, Rousey’s words may cross the line from free speech to that which is illegal. While a lawsuit hasn’t materialized, that could change if she continues to make similar statements.

“The way around (anti-SLAPP) is somebody being reckless,” Prajin said. “She’s crossing that line.”

Today on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Justino defended herself against Rousey’s accusations by stating she has passed six drug tests since her positive test, several of them under the same promotional umbrella. (Justino fights for Invicta FC, but she also holds a deal with UFC parent Zuffa, which this past month enacted an out-of-competition drug testing program overseen by USADA.)

Justino hyped a fight with Rousey at a catchweight of 140 pounds, an oft-cited meet-in-the-middle number, and said the ball is in the UFC’s court for putting them in the UFC’s octagon together.

“Ronda already cleaned out her division,” Justino said. “When a champ cleans out the division – everybody sees this – the champ goes up (in weight). And I’m the champion at 145 (pounds), and I can drop to 140 to fight her. The right way is to have her fight at 145, because all the champions do this when you clear out a division. But I can drop to make 140 happen.

“But I think if the UFC wants to make that fight, they have the power to do this.”

Justino said Rousey “already knows” she would win in a potential meeting and added “if the UFC doesn’t think I deserve the fight, do it for the fans. My fans and fans of MMA want to see this fight, and they deserve this fight.”

For complete coverage of UFC 190, check out the UFC Events section of the site.