Apparently UFC didn’t have the easiest time finding an opponent to fight Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in her Octagon debut at UFC 198 in Curitiba, Brazil in May.
UFC’s General Manager in Brazil, Giovanni Decker, spoke with MMAFighting.com this week and spoke about the process of finding someone to fight the reigning Invicta FC Featherweight Champion.
“We didn’t think it would be impossible (to have Cyborg at UFC 198) because we knew someone would accept the fight,” Decker said during a media scrum in Brazil. “I won’t mention names because I protect the fighters, but many athletes declined. Many names, really. You can say tens of fighters. But we were positive that someone would say yes.”
UFC eventually found Leslie Smith, a tough women’s bantamweight contender best known for having her ear knocked off during a fight with Jessica Eye at UFC 180, to fight Cris Cyborg in her official UFC debut. The fight will be contested at a 140 pound catch weight.
Headlined by Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Title and featuring Vitor Belfort vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Anderson Silva vs. Urijah Hall and Cris Cyborg vs. Leslie Smith, UFC 198 takes place on May 14, 2016 from Curitiba, Brazil.
