Cris "Cyborg" Justino may be the only woman capable of beating UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, and she is ready to take the fight to Rowdy, both inside and outside the Octagon.
Rousey dominated Bethe Correia in a 34-second knockout victory at UFC 190 last Saturday, after which she made some disparaging remarks regarding Cyborg.
"I'm prepared to deal with anything. That's why I'm the champ," she said. "I fight in the UFC 135-pound division. [Cyborg] can fight at 145 pumped full of steroids and she can make weight just like everybody else without them."
Cyborg, who currently competes for Invicta FC, took offense to the comments:
In fact, the 30-year-old Brazilian threatened legal action:
At the same time, Cyborg offered a potential compromise with regard to weight in hopes of making a long-awaited clash with Rousey a reality:
The 28-year-old Rousey is 12-0 in her professional career with only one fight lasting beyond the first round. Cyborg—Invicta FC women's featherweight titleholder—is 14-1 with a no-contest, although she hasn't lost since 2005.
There is no shortage of bad blood between the two competitors, which is why Rousey vs. Cyborg may be the biggest dream fight remaining in the UFC. The organization's president, Dana White, is well aware of the potential gold mine he's sitting on, per Wade Keller of MMA Torch:
"The problem is, the potential fight will almost surely never happen," For the Win's Mike Foss said. "The first issue is Justino is part of Invicta FC, the second is Rousey's belief that she is still using steroids. ... Yep, it looks like real progress between both sides is being made. Book your tickets now," Foss joked following Cyborg's comments.
Despite the obstacles, White may be wise to officially bring in Cyborg and milk some pay-per-view fights out of both her and Rousey against other opponents before matching them up.
Rousey needs legitimate competition in order to maintain her sky-high interest long term. Cyborg is precisely that, and pitting her against Rousey would help UFC do some of its best pay-per-view numbers in history.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
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