Cris Cyborg claims Ronda Rousey has been dodging her for years: “Don’t think she wants the smoke”

Cris Cyborg has reignited one of the biggest hypothetical matchups in women's MMA history and took shots that seemed directed at former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. She even claimed that Rousey has been avoiding a potential clash with her throughout her fighting career. 

Top names that shaped women's MMA and helped it rise; Cyborg and Rousey are definitely among the top, but they never shared the octagon. Despite years of fan speculation about a superfight, it never materialized. 

Cris Cyborg claims Ronda Rousey never wanted to fight her

During the PFL Tampa weigh-in show, Cyborg shared that she has an opponent for a dream fight. The host steered the conversation towards a potential matchup with a high-profile judoka and asked whether her opponent is in the MVP MMA promotion, teasing Rousey’s name, as she recently fought under the promotion. 

The Brazilian claimed that the former UFC bantamweight champion had avoided fighting her when both were competing at the highest level. And referenced Rousey's recent outing against Gina Carano under the MVP MMA promotion in May. suggesting that the timing of their active fighting and breaks prevents them from sharing the cage. 

“Maybe, maybe, but the reality is, the person you talk about, she's never going to face me. When she was number one, she was thinking she was number one, she was running. I don't know if, and then she's on her talk.  And after she come back, fight somebody, 17 years, like after I retire, she's back. And then I don't think she want the smoke,” Cyborg said.

PFL women's featherweight champion doubled down on her comments and insisted that she believes she is a better fighter at present than she was earlier in her career, and also claimed Rousey will not entertain the discussion about a potential fight. 

“I don't think she wants the smoke. I'm better today, I'm better in 41 than 21. You know what I mean? I believe like she have more opportunity when I was 21 than when I was 41,” Cyborg added. 

Check out Cris Cyborg's comments below:

 

Cris Cyborg continues to thrive as Ronda Rousey remains retired

Rousey retired from the UFC after suffering the second loss of her career, which came at the hands of Amanda Nunes, who knocked her out at UFC 207 in Dec 2016.

Cyborg fought her first UFC fight in May 2016 against Leslie Smith and remained in the promotion until 2019. 

Rousey retired from the UFC, which prevented the potential clash between the two. That said, ‘Rowdy’ came back from retirement and fought under the MVP MMA promotion, where she took on Gina Carano and submitted her in less than a minute, and said it was the only fight and that she would never be back. 

On Saturday, Cyborg defended her PFL women's featherweight title against Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa. She secured a dominant, unanimous decision victory and improved her professional MMA record to 30-2.