Following Ronda Rousey’s 16-second knockout of Alexis Davis at Saturday night’s UFC 175 pay-per-view, fight fans are already questioning the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion’s next opponent will be. At the UFC 175 post-fight press conference, Dana White fielded questions about the topic, including whether he would be willing to sign Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.
White sounds like he’s willing to restart negotiations with Cyborg, but expects plenty of backlash from the media due to the hot topic of performance enhancing drugs in Mixed Martial Arts and Cyborg’s history with banned substances.
“I just don’t want to hear your bullsh-t if I do (sign her) because this sh-t is going to flip as soon as I sign her – about drug testing and all the other bullsh-t,” White said. “It’ll be the biggest f-cking topic. It’ll be the biggest f-cking story for you to write. Oh my f-cking God. The script will flip immediately.”
Justino was stripped of her Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight title back in December 2011 after testing positive for a synthetic anabolic steroid. Despite that offense, UFC still attempted to sign her last year after they acquired Strikeforce. Dana White says he actually offered her a deal that was identical to Rousey’s, but Cyborg refused.
“Just so you know, when we bought Strikeforce, we offered them the same exact deal that we offered Ronda, and they turned it down,” he said of Justino and her reps. “They turned their deal down when we tried to sign her.
“Listen, there are certain things to do to get out there. If you really want to fight for the UFC and you want to fight for the title, there are ways to get that done. There are ways to do it. It’s not like we never offered ‘Cyborg’ a deal. We offered ‘Cyborg’ a deal, and they turned it down. She got offered the same deal that Ronda got offered, and she turned it down. She was on a medical suspension too, for performance-enhancing drugs.”
Ronda Rousey vs. Cyborg has the potential to be the biggest Women’s MMA match in history – let’s hope the stars align for this potential blockbuster showdown.
Ronda Rousey: Cyborg “Knows Where I’m At” If She Wants To Get Her Ass Beat
