Cris
Cyborg believes her rivalry with fellow former
Ultimate Fighting Championship star Ronda
Rousey stemmed from the latter’s reluctance to face her at the
height of their careers.
The current
Professional Fighters League champion claims Rousey had every
opportunity to accept a super-fight during her prime but chose not
to.
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The history behind the UFC superfight fans wanted between Cris
Cyborg and Ronda Rousey
Cyborg reflected on her rivalry with Rousey in a new interview with
Sherdog’s Marcelo Alonso ahead of her retirement bout against
Ketlen
Vieira at
PFL Tampa. The Brazilian legend also noted that if „Rowdy“
wouldn’t fight her when they were both active and winning, she
definitely wouldn’t accept a fight now.
“That was something the fans put together. Ronda had the
opportunity to fight me when she was at her peak, and she didn’t
want to,” Cyborg explained of a fan-made poster that was rumored to
be genuine. “If she didn’t want it in her prime, imagine now.”
She also emphasized that their rivalry was based on Rousey’s fear
instead of mutual animosity.
A middleweight
title fight headlines PFL Austin: Tune on Saturday, July 18 at 8
p.m. ET on ESPN.
“I think fear eventually turned into rivalry,” she added. “I never
did anything to her. In fact, Dana himself used to say that once
Ronda beat Holly, her next fight would be against Cyborg. But then
she lost, got really upset, decided to retire, and now she’s back
alongside Gina.”
Rousey put together a stellar 12-0 record and compiled seven title
defenses in the UFC before getting finished in back-to-back bouts
against Holly Holm
and Amanda
Nunes, which marked the beginning of a 10-year hiatus from MMA.
The former UFC champion returned to winning ways against Gina Carano
earlier this year under the
Most Valuable Promotions banner.