There was a time when one of the biggest fights that could be booked in MMA was a super-fight between UFC champion Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg. The two women were the best in the sport and many wanted the fight to happen.
Cris Cyborg always made it clear she wanted the fight to happen but Ronda Rousey always seemed reluctant. Cyborg thought the fight would actually happen once she signed with the UFC a few years ago.
“In the beginning, when [I signed with the UFC], I think they knew it was something I wanted for me to sign with them. But now if I stop and think about it, I think it was never the goal,” Cyborg said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I think it was never the goal to make this fight happen. Because they had the opportunity. They had the opportunity to make this fight. Maybe they were protecting her, maybe she didn’t want to fight and you cannot force her, but I think it was never the goal.”
That wasn't the only fight that didn't happen for Cris Cyborg in the UFC. She was also hoping to get a rematch against Amanda Nunes after she lost the first fight by knockout.
“I have a lot of things that never happened,” Cyborg said. “Me and Ronda, me and Amanda second fight, we never rematched. But this doesn’t change my legacy. You can’t worry about something you can’t control. There’s nothing you can do.
“I think I had great moments in the UFC. I’m very grateful for all my fans, for all the people that work in the UFC, Dana White, and everyone that gave me opportunities over there. I have great moments, but at some point, I had a hard time — like with agreements, they would say something and then not do what they’re supposed to do, so I wanted to retire in the moment. I said, ‘I’m done, I don’t want to do this anymore.’”
The Ronda Rousey fight never happened and neither did the rematch with Amanda Nunes. It was actually a big reason Cris Cyborg opted to leave the UFC.
“Before the Amanda Nunes fight, I was already like, ‘I don’t want to deal with this.’ I was thinking it was gonna be very simple — just go there and fight — and then there was a lot of things like with the management, with the team training, and with the UFC, I said, ‘Man, you know this is too much,’” Cyborg said.
“Then after, I wanted to finish my contract and I tried signing a new [contract] to finish my fight with Amanda Nunes, the rematch, but Dana told me, ‘OK, you’re gonna sign and we’re gonna make this fight happen.’ No. Then Amanda says no after two years. I said I’m not gonna wait two years for this, so better I see what options I have and feel what’s in my heart. In my heart, I feel like I want to be happy, or you want to feel no fire, no heart about fighting. So I chose to have a fire in my heart when I signed with Bellator. Now I’m back and I fight happy. No problems outside the cage, just in the fights.”
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