Joe Rogan speaks out, asks UFC to open up women’s featherweight division for 'Cyborg'

Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan hates hard weight cuts, so watching Cristiane Justino get to 140 pounds – officially 141 – had to be hard for him.

After Justino (17-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) ruthlessly dispatched Lina Lansberg (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in her second catchweight appearance in the octagon, Rogan took to Twitter to ask the UFC to let her fight in her usual featherweight division.

“@ufc please open up a 145lbs division for @criscyborg,” Rogan wrote. “Her torturing herself to make 140 is insane and she’s incredibly entertaining.”

Rogan no doubt watched Justino’s behind-the-scenes videos detailing her UFC debut opposite Leslie Smith and Saturday’s fight against Lansberg. In both, a miserable “Cyborg” is seen weeping as she sheds the final pounds before making the mark.

Justino on Twitter said she would never fight at 140 pounds again, but quickly backpedaled in subsequent interviews. After her second-round battery of Lansberg, she welcomed “superfights” for her fans. On FS1, she asked for ranked opposition, though it’s unclear which division she was referring to.

The way Rogan sees it, however, the UFC can build around her. Not only that, but he opined that fighter would eventually catch up to her.

“Women’s MMA is growing in leaps and bounds and it would be amazing if there were more weight classes,” he wrote.

“I think that if the @UFC opened up more WMMA divisions the level of talent in each division would grow like it has in new men’s divisions,” he added. “The level of talent in each division seems to rise to the standard of the champion. “@criscyborg is a killer and would be a fierce champion.

“Obviously this is all just my opinion,” he clarified. “@UFC is awesome and it’ll all get sorted out eventually. I just had to chirp. I hate hard weight cuts.”

Justino currently holds the Invicta FC featherweight belt, where she’s railroaded all of her opposition. It was her dominance that led the UFC to sign her to a deal that allowed her to fight in the octagon (and draw from the industry-leader’s financial resources). The deal also came with a very large carrot: a possible future fight with now ex-champ Ronda Rousey.

But with a fight against the once-dominant women’s bantamweight champ looking less and less likely, Justino’s residence at 140 pounds appears unnecessary, particularly in light of the health risks she faces by cutting so much weight.

Justino sidestepped the question of what would come next for her at the UFC Fight Night 95 press conference, shifting her attention to an imminent vacation.

But she holds out hope that her next fight is a lot easier for her on the scales.

“Let me defend my world title @ufc,” she wrote on Twitter.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 95, check out the UFC Events section of the site.