At UFC 208’s controversial main event, Germaine de Randamie claimed the inaugural UFC featherweight title in a bout against former bantamweight champion Holly Holm. The “Iron Lady” Randamie took home the belt by unanimous decision.
UFC featherweight Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino watched the two go the distance, only to have her hopes of facing the victor shot down.
Directly after the title fight, featherweight champion Randamie told the crowd, “I want to fight everybody. If Cris Cyborg is the one I have to fight, I’ll fight her. Right now, I really need surgery on my hand. I’m going to get surgery on my hand and let’s see after.”
Following up on her statement, “Iron Lady” explained:
“I tore a ligament in my hand, in my fight with Larissa Pacheco. So I need to go get that fixed first.”
In an interview with ESPN, Cris Cyborg explained her side of event. Apparently, she came prepared.
“This was something me and my team were already thinking about. We said, ‘Man, whoever wins is going to say, ‘Oh, I need to retire’ or something like that — anything that lets them hold on to the belt as long as possible. So, we were prepared for it. As soon as they said, ‘You’re next opponent is going to be Cyborg,’ she started talking about her hand. It really doesn’t change anything. I know I’m the world champ. It doesn’t matter if I fight for a belt.”
Cris Cyborg is currently applying for a TUE exemption for her recent non-PED USADA anti-doping violation.
If she can exempt herself from potential suspension, Cyborg will be rearing to go for the featherweight belt.
