There was a time Cris Cyborg badly wanted to fight Ronda Rousey, but that time has passed.
In response to Edmond Tarverdyan’s comments that he’d like Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) to return for one more fight against Cyborg (18-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), the UFC women’s featherweight champion today called Rousey’s longtime coach “a joke” and explained why she’d only take the bout if it was scripted.
Via CrisCyborg.com:
When I wanted to fight her it was because she was at the top of her game and she had all of the confidence in the world. She had not been KO’d twice in a row and some people were actually saying she could beat Floyd Mayweather in a fight.
I wanted the challenge so bad I almost killed myself trying to make the lowest weight possible just to give this fight to the fans, and she made every excuse for it not to happen.
Both of us are now at different chapters in our careers and for me that chapter is finished.
If Ronda is wanting to make the fight for the fans, I would still be willing to give them it, but I think it would be better to take place inside the WWE ring.
Cyborg vs. Rousey could’ve been the MMA superfight of all superfights had it happened at the height of Rousey’s UFC dominance. That’s when Cyborg called for it on repeated occasions. She just couldn’t make 135 pounds without seriously jeopardizing her health, and then-bantamweight champion Rousey refused to fight at a 140-pound catchweight, which Cyborg twice made in the UFC before the featherweight division opened this year.
That it never materialized is a shame, but not as shameful as Tarverdyan’s suggestion that it should still happen.
Was he not cageside for Rousey’s last two fights? Did he not see her get out-classed by Holly Holm for 6 minutes before being knocked out with a devastating head kick? Did he not see how awkward she looked as Amanda Nunes lit up her face in a 48-second TKO loss?
For Tarverdyan to suggest Rousey should come back to face the biggest killer in the history of women’s MMA right now, you have to question his motives.
As for Cyborg, given the fight would still probably do big numbers on pay-per-view, it would’ve been easy for her to try and capitalize with another Rousey callout. But Cyborg essentially has showed mercy with her response, alluding to the fact that she wanted the fight when Rousey “had all the confidence in the world.” She has no interest in proverbially kicking her while she’s down and is only a shell of what she used to be.
Kudos to Cyborg for that.
But a WWE match? I can get down with that.
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The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.
