A fight between Holly Holm and Cris Cyborg has been attempted on numerous occasions including recently for this Saturday’s UFC 208.
But in December, Cyborg was notified of a potential USADA violation and is currently contesting the matter. The UFC went on and pitted Holm against Germaine de Randamie with the winner becoming the first UFC featherweight champion.
If things don’t go the way of Cyborg, she could be suspended for a year. While the first fighter to defeat Ronda Rousey feels a fight against Cyborg could still happen down the line, it all depends on the Brazilian.
“I’m just going to wait and see what happens with that (USADA situation),” Holm told MMAJunkie. “There has to be a lot that happens for that fight to happen. She’s got to deal with whatever is going on with USADA. Who knows what’s really happening with that? Obviously something.”
“The Preacher’s Daughter” knows how lucrative a fight with the former Strikeforce and current Invicta FC featherweight champion would be. But, a potential fight cannot happen unless she gets by de Randamie in the main event at UFC 208.
“In order to even think about that potential fight, I have to get through this fight,” Holm said. “When I first signed with the UFC, I had two fights, one fight being Raquel Pennington and then Marion Reneau. In both of those fights, people kept asking me, ‘How long do you think until you fight Ronda?’ I said, ‘Well I have these fights in front of me first, so I have to get through them.’ I know Cris ‘Cyborg’ is definitely the big name for the 145-pound division, but right now with this situation she has going on, I think I’ll just let that pan out.
“Who knows what’s really going on? I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. I don’t want my career to be defined over one fighter. I still have so much to do. I’ve got Germaine de Randamie right in front of me. If I don’t get by her, there probably won’t even be talk of a Cris ‘Cyborg’ fight.”
UFC 208 takes place Saturday night from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. You can catch the preliminary portion of the card on UFC Fight Pass and Fox Sports 1 while the main card can be seen on pay-per-view.
