The party line when it comes to Ronda vs Cyborg is that Cyborg needs to make 135 if she wants to fight Ronda, end of discussion. The problem is that Cyborg is a big lady. Check out this picture of her next to Frankie Edgar, she dwarfs him.
The backstory
Ronda used to fight at 145, and she had called out Cyborg back when Ronda was still on her way up. That fight never happened, Ronda moved to 135 and wrecked havoc in the UFC, and Cyborg got left behind to wade through the shallow 145 division in Invicta. Ronda vs Cyborg is basically the Mayweather vs Pacquiao of MMA except it’s nearly guaranteed to end with a finish.
The problem is that Cyborg held a press conference where her doctor announced that she would die if she tried to cut to 135. As you can tell, she’s a very muscular woman (who’s been busted for steroids) so she would have to sacrifice some of her sick gains.
Ronda, Dana, and the rest of the gang have said time and time again that the fight is waiting for Cyborg as soon as she proves that she can make 135. Cyborg wants to do a catchweight at 140, meeting halfway. The UFC insists that that’s not going to happen.
Ronda has said that she would move up to 140/145 to fight Gina Carano, but not for the Cyborg fight.
What’s actually going on
Cyborg is Ronda’s only real threat, and could crush one of the UFC’s few remaining dominant champs that are active. Ronda’s most recent PPV did almost twice as many buys as the card that had Pettis vs RDA and the 115lb belt on the line, but a loss to Cyborg could put a stick in the wheel of that cash cow. The fight would be huge, as would the rematch, but they don’t want to give Cyborg any edge at all.
Miesha’s not scared, homie
Miesha Tate wants the fight with Cyborg and is willing to meet at a catchweight, and basically makes Ronda look real scared in the process.
“I’m not scared of anyone. So yes, I would (fight Cyborg at 140).” – Miesha Tate, at a fan Q&A event.
So why won’t Ronda step up and give MMA fans the fight they want to see? Well, there are multiple reasons. There are the reasons that make her look bad, the reasons that are fair enough, and the truth probably sits somewhere in the middle.
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