Ronda Rousey took some time out of her UFC 190 training schedule to answer questions from the press, and two big topics came up and kinda meshed themselves together: When does Ronda think she’s going to step away from the sport, and when does she think she’ll fight Cris Cyborg? Her answers are bound to raise a few eyebrows.
“Right now, they’re lining up around the block. But when a day comes where I feel like I’ve done all that I can do…. The women’s strawweight division being so successful and competitive is one of the most encouraging things that’s happened. That division has nothing to do with me, and it’s thriving.
“Once I feel like women’s MMA is really self sustaining and something that I can see lasting for decades without me, then I’ll be able to step away. Everyone says ‘You’re running out of opponents.’ Better hope I don’t run out, because then I’ll be done.”
…
“I have this idea in my mind that my final fight would be just beating the crap out of Cris Cyborg, and then when Dana White puts the belt on me the last time, I could take it off and hand it back to him. But if she doesn’t step up, I can move on and do other things with my life. She’s the one who’s going to fall into obscurity without me.”
That doesn’t bode well for those hoping Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg might tussle as soon as January. Things aren’t exactly looking extra promising on Cyborg’s side, either. While the 145-pound fighter just knocked out her latest opponent in under a minute earlier this month, new regulations banning fighters from using IV hydration after weight cuts is bound to make an already hard cut even harder.
Will Rousey ever agree to a catch-weight fight? It doesn’t sound like the 135-pound champion is in any hurry to make a fight with Cyborg, but if Ronda blasts through Bethe Correia on August 1 with ease, she may find that people are no longer as willing to let a five-pound difference derail the largest women’s fight in combat sports history.
(via MMA Junkie)
