Ronda Rousey made her first title defense this past Saturday night and successfully defended the title with another armbar submission in the first round.
After the fight, she called out former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and stated that she needed to come down to the 135 lb division and face her.
“People want to see you have the first fair fight of your life,” Rousey said. “I am the champion now. The champ doesn’t go to you, you come to the champ. Come down to 135 and let’s settle this.”
Rousey appeared on last night’s episode of “Inside MMA” on AXS TV and did not back off her comments from Saturday night.
“That girl has been cheating for her entire career and she is not the champion, she was stripped of her belt,” Rousey said. “It’s not like she was fighting before and suddenly you said a huge muscle mass increase with her in her last fight. Everyone knows she has been cheating. The whole time she held that belt, I think was a fraud. If she comes off the juice, she will not have a problem making the weight.”
Rousey would like her next fight to be against Cyborg and is willing to wait for her to come off suspension from the California State Athletic Commission. Cyborg can not reapply for a fighters license until December and Strikeforce would like to see the former champion move down to the bantamweight division.
Cyborg talked to MMA Junkie yesterday and claimed that she is not able to make 135 lbs because she has been told by doctors that making the cut could have effects on her long term health.
She has never fought below 145 lbs and it has been suggested that the two women fighters meet in the middle at a catch weight fight of 140 lbs. Rousey has stated that is not an option and Cyborg must come to her to make the fight happen.
Strikeforce officials want to make this fight happen and officials at Showtime would also like to see this fight happen. Once Cyborg comes off suspension, Strikeforce and Showtime will do what they can to make this super fight happen. If they can make this fight, it would be the biggest women’s mixed martial arts fight and may end up on pay-per-view.