Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino’s long-awaited UFC debut will finally come to fruition when the reigning Invicta FC Featherweight champion and former Strikeforce world titleholder steps into the Octagon at UFC 198 on May 14, which takes place in her hometown of Curitiba, Brazil.
No, it won’t be the highly anticipated showdown with Ronda Rousey that the world had been salivating over for the past couple of years. Instead, Cyborg’s UFC debut will be against Leslie Smith.
“I’m super excited about finally fighting in the UFC and making my debut in front of my hometown,” Justino (15-1) told Yahoo Sports. “I am very thankful to the UFC for finally giving me the chance to show the world why I am the baddest woman on the planet.”
It’s been a long time coming for the woman affectionately nicknamed “Cyborg.” With Rousey taking the MMA world by storm, Justino appeared to be the only opponent that could give the then-invincible Rousey a run for her money. However, with Justino competing in a weight class that the UFC hadn’t debuted, the issue of weight became a sticking point of bringing the two together for a proposed superfight. Dreams of a clash between the two temporarily went up in smoke when Rousey lost to Holly Holm last November.
In the interim, Justino continued to roll in the all-women’s Invicta FC promotion and recently defended her featherweight title with a first-round annihilation of Daria Ibragimova back in January that extended her knockout streak to nine.
It’s not yet known whether “Cyborg” will continue to make her way down to the 135-pound division where Miesha Tate is currently champion and the Brazilian refused to discuss anything regarding her weight by simply stating, “I’m not looking past this fight right now.”
However, when asked if a fight with Rousey is something she’s still interested in, Cyborg did address what could still be a huge fight for the UFC.
“I would love to fight Ronda. [But the] question is: does Ronda want to fight me?”
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