Ronda Rousey wants to fight 'Cyborg' Justino at 135-pounds

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has been dominating the competition in the company, and could rule the women’s division for many years to come, but “the world’s most dangerous woman” revealed she is not planning to fight in the Octagon into her 30s. While Rousey’s reign could close out in a few years, the 28-year-old fighter admitted her MMA career would “definitely” provide a sense of finality if she could land a fight with Cris “Cyborg” Justino.

Rousey has established herself as one of the most elite fighters in the world of mixed martial arts, but the female champ confessed on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast on Monday that her career would appear “unfinished” without fighting Justino, who holds a record of 14 wins and 1 loss. However, “Rowdy” would prefer “Cyborg” to come down at the latter’s weight class.

Rousey, with an undefeated record of 12-0, is dwelling in UFC’s bantamweight division at 135 pounds, while Justino reigns as champion of Invicta Fighting Championship’s 145-pound division. According to ESPN, both Rousey and UFC president Dana White have agreed that a mega fight between the two champions could only happen if Justino moves down at 135 pounds.

Rousey has revealed that her strictness in Justino’s weight class started when the latter failed a drug test in 2011 in which she tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, commonly used as performance enhancer. ESPY’s Best Fighter of the Year Awardee is convinced that “cheaters” deserves no tolerance, and believes Justino should be able to make 135 pounds.

“The thing is, someone who uses steroids and those kind of things, they need that to mentally think they have an advantage they didn’t earn,” Rousey said, reports MMA Junkie. “If you can make weight and be on steroids, even if it’s making weight or a relatedly making weight-friendly steroid, you’re still, without it you’re capable of moving down.”

Meanwhile, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, who will defend his title against John Dodson at UFC 191, is just as interested as anyone else in the potential fight between Rousey and Justino. However, “Mighty Mouse” is not thrilled in seeing the bout contested at a 135-pound catch weight, saying a drained Justino against a Rousey would be “garbage.”

"If [Cyborg] made 135, and granted, she did the drugs and that's in the past and she's a big woman from doing that, but her making 135 pounds, it wouldn't be the same Cris Cyborg as at 145,” Johnson said, reports MMA Fighting.

Justino has guaranteed earlier this year that she can go down at 135 only if UFC books a fight against Rousey in December. However, with Rousey set to fight Holly Holm at UFC 193 on Nov. 15 in Melbourne, and with contenders Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes in the waiting list, a matchup with Justino seems unlikely to happen in a couple of months.

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