With Ronda Rousey losing to Holly Holm last month, Cris “Cyborg” Justino has abandoned plans to ease her way down to bantamweight.
Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp confirmed on Friday’s “Inside MMA” program on AXS TV that Justino will now defend her Featherweight Title in her next appearance, rather than take a catchweight as previously planned. She still believes Justino wants the long-discussed fight with Rousey, but the timing is no longer in her favor after UFC 193’s shocking result.
“Cris is a UFC athlete so the discussions about what she does in the future certainly goes on between them,” Knapp commented (transcribed by FoxSports.com), “but especially today with the announcement that Holly and Ronda will have a rematch, that will be the next fight for both, I think it does kind of take it off the table for her, kind of shelves it for a bit.
“I still think there’s a desire there at some point and that’s still a fight I’d like to see, whether it’s Ronda or Holly or whoever it is.
Penick’s Analysis: It makes sense. The only reason there was talk of moving down was to set up the Rousey fight, and that’s not happening in 2016. Had Rousey beat Holm, it would have been Rousey-Cyborg at UFC 200. I think that’s almost assuredly what would have happened, but now that the Holm-Rousey rematch will take that spot (and will be bigger than Rousey-Cyborg could have been), Cyborg’s back to where she was before.
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