Create a free account to unlock this article! Get Started Already a subscriber? Log In

Cris "Cyborg" Justino has never been one to keep her feelings to herself.



Speaking to the lads at Submission Radio this week, Cyborg spoke about Ronda Rousey returning for an immediate title shot at Amanda Nunes in December.



As you can imagine, the Invicta FC featherweight champion wasn't exactly in favor of Rousey being able to walk back straight into a title rematch.



"Ronda, after her loss to Holly Holm, she took like a one-year break, and then I don't think it's fair she fights for the belt after one-year break," Cyborg said. "I think she's supposed to rematch Holly Holm or fight somebody else. I don't think she's humble enough for a fight that's not for the belt, because she wants to fight for the belt.



"Amanda Nunes, she fights all the time and she's in shape and man, I don't know if she's (Rousey) making a good choice. You know Ronda, she ran from me long time. This is no surprise to me that she doesn't fight me in her next fight. Of course not. She cannot take a punch and she doesn't have a strong mind.



"Holly just kicked her ass in her last fight and she doesn't feel confident. I hope she's training hard for her next fight, because Amanda is no easy opponent. Amanda knows (how to) punch and Miesha Tate can say about this. You know, that's no easy fight, it's no easy fight."



Still believes that Rousey is ducking her

Speaking about the possibility of herself and Rousey ever fighting, Cyborg wasn't so confident she'd ever be given the opportunity to square off with her.



"Really if Ronda really wanted to fight me, she would've already did it," Cyborg said. "[Whether] she wins or loses her next fight, she's not going to fight me. This I already know. She doesn't like challenging herself. If she loses, she's going to retire. Even if she wins, she will say, "you have to come to the champion," and she'll be saying the things that she said before, you know, because she's not there to challenge for big fights.



[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BM9mYV8BpOx/" hide_caption="0"]



"You know, she chooses her opponent and I don't think this fight's going to happen. I know Dana White said, 'Oh Ronda wants to fight really bad'. If she really wanted this fight really bad, it would have already happened, people would've already watched the fight. I don't believe one word of this. She didn't even say my name. Before, she was all the time saying my name, that she wants to fight me, 'Oh Cris Cyborg'.



"Now she doesn't say my name because we're in the same organization. She knows if she says my name, this fight's going to happen. She's avoiding me and not saying my name. She's telling reporters, "no questions about Cyborg, because if you make questions about Cyborg, I'm not going to answer you and you'll be out of my list of reporters," and then she plays this game. I don't think this fight's going to happen."



Not needing a fight with Rousey

Asked whether never getting a fight with Rousey would affect her legacy, Cyborg wasn't so sure that and suggested that she'd already done everything she could to prove herself.



"I don't think I need Ronda to change my life or anything," Cyborg said. "Because everybody says, "oh, you need to fight Ronda," no I don't think I need her to change anything. I think people have followed me for a long time. My last fight, a lot of people watched in Brazil, 30 million people watched.



"In America, 1.3 million people watched my fight. People want to see Cyborg. Of course, if this fight with Ronda happens, fans would like to watch it and it would be the biggest pay-per-view ever in the UFC. If it doesn't happen, it's not my fault. I already proved it, I already made 140 (pounds). Everybody knows I would like this fight. If it doesn't happen, it's not because of me.



"I'm really happy with my job, I'm a long-time world champ and I dropped to 140 to give the opportunity to make a super fight. And I'm really happy with what I'm doing in MMA and I think I can do more with my division and maybe fight a division up, maybe do a super fight. I don't know. I think I could do a lot of things and I'm going to keep doing it."



No more 140-pounds, unless it's with Rousey

Cyborg then stated that she was no longer prepared to make the cut to 140-pounds unless it was a fight with Rousey.



"You know, the first time I made 140 in Brazil, Curitiba, the first time I did it was because it would be in my city," Cyborg said. The main thing is to do is open an opportunity, maybe to do super fight with Ronda Rousey at 140. And I just showed them that I can make 140 for a super fight. And my second fight was supposed to be 145, I was supposed to be to defend my belt. And then again, I had the opportunity to fight 140 in Brazil.



"I really respect all my opponents, but the girl in my last fight (Lina Lansberg), nobody knows her, and she's had like 70 Muay Thai fights. She's a really, really good opponent, but for me to sacrifice to make 140, I'd like a super fight. You know, something the fans would like to watch. Because my last opponent, her last win was at 145 pounds. And then sometimes, I don't see it's worth making 140 to make a fight like this.



If you want a super fight, doesn't matter the weight -- It can be 150, can be 155, 145. But the thing is, I cannot kill myself at the time to make 140 for a normal fight."







​ FloCombat's hottest content, delivered to your inbox

Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloCombat mailing list today.



