Cris Cyborg thinks Ronda Rousey was a greater threat than Kayla Harrison is now.
Cyborg has made it clear that she’s targeting big fights. She has said she wants to share the cage with Harrison at some point. Cyborg is the Bellator Women’s Featherweight Champion, while Harrison is the 2019 PFL Women’s Lightweight Winner and is a heavy favorite to win the gold again this year.
During an appearance on MMAFighting‘s The MMA Hour, Cyborg told Ariel Helwani that she thinks Rousey was more dangerous than Harrison.
“I was supposed to fight Ronda Rousey before and I was training for a camp, The first thing you train in judo is learn to fall. Because when you’re going to fight judo, maybe you’re going to fall yes, but you have to know what to do after.
Rousey was once one of the most dominant champions in the UFC. She ruled the roost in the women’s bantamweight division before being stopped in her tracks by Holly Holm. Following a 48-second TKO loss to Amanda Nunes, Rousey retired from pro MMA competition.
Harrison, herself, is on an undefeated streak. Like Rousey, Harrison was also a judo Olympian. Rousey earned a bronze medal in 2008. Harrison has two gold medals.
Many fans believe that Cyborg vs. Rousey is one of the great “what if” bouts in MMA history. The two had exchanged nasty verbal digs for years but by the time Cyborg signed with the UFC, the chances of such a fight happening faded.
It’ll be interesting to see if Cyborg vs. Harrison will ever materialize. After Cyborg teased moving up to Harrison’s division, the PFL fighter said she has no problem with the Bellator champion riding her “coattails.”
