Cris Cyborg: 'Ronda Rousey Is Running to Not Fight Me'
Ronda Rousey may be the star of the show for women's MMA at the moment, but don't forget about Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. The Brazilian is entering the home stretch of her suspension due to a failed drug test and is eagerly waiting to step back into the cage.
"Cyborg" spoke to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com on The MMA Hour and expressed interest in fighting one woman in particular.
"I really wanna fight Ronda," she said. "I really want to."
When asked why she seemed so focused on fighting Rousey, "Cyborg" elaborated that she wasn't happy with some of the comments made by Rousey following Santos' suspension.
"She says bad things about me. I never say bad things about my opponent," Santos said. "I want to do my best in the Octagon, and if she says she wants to fight me, she can come to my weight or at 140."
The leanest "Cyborg" has ever weighed in at is 140 pounds, which was for her United States debut in 2008. "Cyborg" admitted that a cut to 135 pounds would be too difficult but told Helwani that she is around 160 pounds right now and considers herself to be "very skinny."
Rousey initially began her career at 145 pounds but dropped a weight class to challenge bantamweight title holder Miesha Tate earlier this year. Although it would seem Rousey made the decision based on the fact she would get a title shot and it was virtually the only big fight in WMMA Strikeforce could make at the time, "Cyborg" has other thoughts.
"...she's running to 135. She's running to not fight me," Santos said. "And after, she speaks a lot of s*** about me. I want to fight her soon."
The war of words between the ladies began when Rousey stated she had no respect for "Cyborg" after her failed drug test. The two engaged in minor bickering exchanges, with the highlight from Santos' side coming after she shared a picture of a beaten Gina Carano, apparently threatening to duplicate the feat against Rousey.
Santos is anticipating the time when the talking will be over between the two.
"I'm very excited to fight her. And when we're in the Octagon, we'll see if she says anything," she said. "And if she says anything, I can punch her."
Perhaps the two will be able to meet one another in the cage on Saturday night, as "Cyborg" will be in the building to watch Rousey defend her title against Sarah Kaufman in the main event of Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman.
