Cris "Cyborg" Justino Calls Out Ronda Rousey...Again
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — After Ronda Rousey's destruction of challenger Bethe Correia in her last UFC bout, Cris "Cyborg" Justino has been pestering her to agree to a fight between the two.
Rousey knocked out Bethe Correia in just 34 seconds in her last fight, as she continued her overwhelming dominance of the women's 135-pound division of the UFC.
Justino is currently the Invicta FC 145-pound champion, while Rousey is the bantamweight champion and her preferred weight class is 10 pounds less at 135 pounds.
The UFC does not promote a a female 145-pound weight class, so Justino would have to come down to 135 pounds in order for the fight to occur under UFC rules. UFC officials have stated that if a fight were to occur, it must occur at the 135-pound weight class.
In what could be a precursor to the Rousey fight, Justino is training to get down to 140-pounds for her next fight.
"Cyborg" took to Instagram Saturday to take another jab at Rousey, posting a meme on her account mocking Rousey.
The meme featured a picture of Rousey with the artwork from Dr. Dre's new album, "Straight Outta Compton". However, Justino put the caption as "Straight Outta Excuse", as a reference to Rousey's reluctance to agree to a fight with her.
Justino called for a fight to be scheduled in April of 2016, after her request to fight in December was indirectly declined by Rousey's representatives.
Rousey has an upcoming bout with Miesha Tate, and she is also scheduled to begin filming of the Peter Berg-directed film called, "Mile 22".
"Ronda, if you're busy in [December], how about April," Justino wrote on Instagram.
"Then we can make sure everyone knows we are BOTH clean by doing Olympic testing leading up to the fight," she added.
The testing reference is in response to Rousey's comments about Justino earlier in the year, when she was quoted as saying, "I'm prepared to deal with anything, that's why I'm the champ. I fight in the UFC's 135-pound division. And she can fight at 145 [pounds] pumped full of steroids and she can make weight just like everybody else without them."
The comments prompted Cyborg and her representatives to threaten a slander suit against Rousey, as she vehemently denies that she is currently on steroids.
"I pass the same exams Ronda Rousey takes to prove she's clean for the same company," Cyborg said on Twitter.
However, Rousey's accusations were not out of nowhere, as the Brazilian fighter did test positive for Stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, after a post-fight drug test revealed the results back in 2012.
This is not the first time Cyborg went after Rousey, and in May she posted an essay directed towards Rousey on her Facebook page.
Justino urged Rousey to fight her "for all the fans who want to watch this fight" on SportsCenter earlier in the month.
Justino, as the current Invicta FC 145-pound champion, is already subjected to drug tests, but if she agrees to a UFC bout with Rousey, she would be subjected to additional drug tests that would be administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Nick Kalikas of MMAOddsBreaker.com said that, "Cyborg is perceived as the only true threat to Rousey's reign. She has been just as dominant in the women's 145-pound division as Rousey has at 135."
Rousey has her mind set on her next fight with Miesha Tate, which will be the third time the two have fought. Rousey has won both prior meetings.
The fight is scheduled for this December at UFC 194, and Rousey has already opened up as the huge betting favorite, at 11-1.
UPDATE: According to Justino's manager, there have been talks of a UFC fight between the two on December 5th at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Cyborg has apparently already agreed to fighting in the 135-pound weight class, and her camp is awaiting a response from Rousey.
Cyborg's manager told ESPN.com on Saturday he has had "multiple conversations" with UFC officials regarding the potential bout. However, UFC President Dana White denies all such reports.