MMA legend Cris Cyborg has claimed that the UFC never had a ‘goal’ to book her in a fight against Ronda Rousey.
For years now the ‘women’s GOAT’ conversation in mixed martial arts has revolved around two central figures - Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg. While Ronda Rousey was once leading the charge in that debate by a considerable distance, her losses to Nunes and Holly Holm have severely damaged her legacy in the eyes of fans across the globe.
Now, she’s over in WWE after carving out an intriguing new career for herself in professional wrestling.
Cyborg rarely has a lot to say about Rousey these days but during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, she spoke candidly about the reasons why we never saw her compete against ‘Rowdy’ despite it being heavily rumoured for a long time.
“In the beginning, when [I signed with the UFC], I think they knew it was something I wanted for me to sign with them. But now if I stop and think about it, I think it was never the goal,” Cyborg said. “I think it was never the goal to make this fight happen. Because they had the opportunity. They had the opportunity to make this fight. Maybe they were protecting her, maybe she didn’t want to fight and you cannot force her, but I think it was never the goal.”
“I have a lot of things that never happened,” Cyborg said. “Me and Ronda, me and Amanda second fight, we never rematched. But this doesn’t change my legacy. You can’t worry about something you can’t control. There’s nothing you can do.”
The next step for Cyborg
At the age of 36, there’s a real argument to be made that Cris Cyborg has done everything she needs to do in this sport.
From Strikeforce to Invicta to UFC to Bellator, the veteran has won titles in every major organisation.
In her last outing, Cyborg beat Arlene Blencowe via unanimous decision to solidify her position as the very best Bellator has to offer.
Moving forward, a lot of eyes will be on PFL to see whether or not they can book the crossover superfight with Kayla Harrison that we’ve all been waiting for.