Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino Will Go Down In Weight To Make Ronda Rousey Fight Happen

Invicta FC women’s featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino is still chasing UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Both primed fighters are set to take the stage in separate matches at the tail-end of February and it is not coincidental that the promotional outfits have scheduled their fights on consecutive nights.

Justino is scheduled to fight Charmaine Tweet at Invicta FC 11 on Feb. 27 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California while Rousey is set to tackle Cat Zingano on the following night. Despite these women facing different challengers, media outlets are still more concerned with the prospect of pitting her against Rousey, which was again the subject of her latest interview.

"I think this fight will happen," she told Ariel Helwani during her appearance at the MMA Hour. "I think all the fans want to watch it, and the UFC wants to make this fight. But I am focused on my next fight now. Charmaine Tweet is my next opponent now."

Justino who is staking her belt in the 145-lbs weight bracket is saying all the right things but all that matters is that she 10 pound difference between her and Rousey, the main stumbling block to arranging a match. UFC Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Fertitta relayed during last month that the organization is working out a deal to bring over the former Strikeforce champion into the UFC stable. Given that the UFC has no featherweight class, Justino has no other choice but to go down to bantamweight.

The Brazilian fighter was supposed to appear in a bantamweight match last December 2014 but it did not materialize as she suffered a serious ankle injury. She proposed a catch weight of 140 lbs. but was rebuffed by Rousey who bluntly said that the injury was primarily due to Justino giving up her “juice”. Since then, the Olympic bronze medallist Rousey has moved on and is now slated to fight number 2 contender Cat Zingano in UFC 184.

Justino is now singing a different tune about the drop to bantamweight revealing in the same interview that anything is possible. She added that she is trying a new diet that is supposedly the key to her losing the 10 pounds. She added that her family and friends are excited for the possibility of the Rousey bout which is her extra motivation to secure the new weight.

The Invicta FC talent was also recently subjected to a random drug testing by the California State Athletic Commission in connection with her fight with Tweet. Back in 2011, Justino was suspended for testing positive for anabolic steroids which is now the usual subject of the harsh criticisms and trash talk from Rousey. Justino added that she has no problems with the random drug testing that admitted that she had a lapse in judgment with her history with performance enhancing drugs.

For concerns on this story, contact the author at v.hidalgo@ibtimes.com.au.