ronda rousey-ufc170-weigh inThe war of words between UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg continues to escalate. The two have been at odds over the past few years as the demand for the two to fight continues to grow. Rousey recently spoke on Cyborg and her willingness to fight her with Combate:

“I’m the champion,” Rousey told Combate. “I fight whoever comes up. She’s the one who has options, not me. I’m exactly where I was when she left and she can come back and give it a try anytime. She’ll get what she deserves. She really embarrassed not just women’s MMA and the sport, she embarrassed her country, as well. I’m happy to set it straight.”

“She says she so ‘desperately’ wants [the fight],” said Rousey. “Then how come the day after they announced out-of-competition drug testing in the UFC she asked to be released? If you so desperately wanted a fight you would come fight me, not run away. I think she’s saying one thing and doing another. I’ve always been [in the UFC]. I’m not going anywhere.”

The only thing is that Rousey will not fight Cyborg unless she takes the fight at bantamweight. However, Rousey was willing to make an exception for Gina Carano, and fight her at featherweight but will not do the same for Cyborg. Why is that? Why not a catchweight fight at 140 pounds since Rousey was fighting as a featherweight when Cyborg was the Strikeforce champion?

Cyborg is set to fight later this year, making her bantamweight debut in the Invicta FC all women’s promotion. If she successfully makes the weight cut and performs well, there will be no more excuses from either side. I suppose until then, the war of words will continue.

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