UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg revealed this week that the someone called to offer her a fight in Australia on six-weeks notice. Of course the assumption is she’s referring to Invicta FC champion Megan Anderson.
“I got a call asking if I would fight @megana_mmain her home country and I said Yes!”, said the UFC champion in a statement made to her instagram.
Cyborg’s comments came on the heels of a respectful Twitter exchange between the two fighters,
“Great fight ladies! Congrats Cris on retaining your belt! @ufc I think there’s only 1 fight to make now against a legit featherweight. #UFC219
Great fight ladies! Congrats Cris on retaining your belt! ???? @ufc I think there's only 1 fight to make now against a legit featherweight. #UFC219
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) December 31, 2017
“#ufc221 it’s been a year since @megana_mma won the @invictafc belt and she hasn’t defended it yet. If she’s ready to defend her #1 ranking I would love to fight in Australia.”
However, earlier Thursday, UFC President Dana White came out and said that Cyborg will face UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes next.
“First of all Amanda Nunes wants to fight her.” As transcribed by MMAImports.com. “Amanda Nunes wants to fight Cyborg. That is the fight to make, and that is the fight I will make. That’s the fight.”
“Amanda Nunes is a big, strong powerful puncher. I Think she matches up very will with Cyborg too, and that’s a fun fight. That’s the fight to make.
“Cyborg wants to fight. We’ll get her a fight as soon as we can get it done. As soon as Amanda can prepare and get ready for this fight we’re ready to role!”
Then, as luck would have it, when it looked like a super-fight was all lined up, Cyborg reminded us of that earlier Instagram post where she said she was fighting Anderson next.
In a lengthy message on her website, the UFC featherweight champ explained herself.
“I can continue giving fans superfights, however in order for this division to grow it is my responsibility to respect the work of all the women fighting at 145lbs and give the top girls a chance at the title once they have earned it. If Amanda Nunes truly wants an opportunity at the 145lbs belt, a win against any ranked contender in that division would help establish her back in a weight class she left before fighting me.”
“As a World Champion it is important that you face the #1 contender. That is what makes it sport and not entertainment, otherwise what are the girls fighting at 145lbs training to work towards if they know they will never be given a title shot even if they become the best in the world? I have a responsibility to the sport to ensure that when I retire the 145lbs division continues to exist, and it is because of that I want my next fight to be against a contender from the featherweight division that has fought at 145lbs within the last year.”
“Having re-established myself as the WORLD CHAMPION at 145lbs I feel it is my obligation to fight the #1 contender at 145lbs in my next fight.”
“I have fought 4 consecutive fights against girls who have come up from 145lbs to fight me, because they were “SUPERFIGHTS” for the fans. Besides Lina Lansburg (I fought her at 140) none of these girls had been fighting at featherweight.”
Which brings us right back to Megan Anderson, who, despite being the first one to ask for the fight, took to her twitter to release a statement that Cyborg is not keeping it 100.
Check it out:
Fyi… pic.twitter.com/3RqHMJSZAz
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) January 4, 2018
