Ronda Rousey was long thought to be a no-brainer superfight opponent for Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos, who had dominated all opposition in Strikeforce at 145 pounds. But things haven’t panned out.
Rousey dropped down to 135 pounds and won the Strikeforce bantamweight title and has since been named the UFC bantamweight champion. Santos tested positive for the steroid stanozolol, was stripped of her featherweight title and suspended a year.
With Santos’ ban recently lifted and Strikeforce essentially absorbed by the UFC, her options were limited when she declared she couldn’t safely cut enough weight to make 135 pounds.
So Rousey seemed amused by last week’s news that Santos had requested to be dropped from the UFC so she could sign with Invicta Fighting Championships.
“I think it’s just a plea for attention and an attempt to try and stay relevant. I mean, she hasn’t had a recorded win in over three years and the fight that she picked up is a chick that I beat in 26 seconds while I had nine stitches in my foot from a pitbull bite three days before,” Rousey said, referencing her March 2011 pro-debut victory over Ediane Gomes, who will fight Santos on April 5. “My mom hit me with a text the day they announced it and she’s like, “Unless she walks in and hits her and the other girl explodes, I’m not gonna be impressed.
“So I don’t know what she’s really trying to prove with this fight because it’s not gonna prove anything. But maybe it’s the only chick they could find to pick it up.”