Saturday, February 22, 2014

Cris Cyborg knows her statement doesn't go far enough

So today's big MMA "newz' is that Cris Cyborg issued a statement that she will agree to drop to 135lb for three fights and challenge Ronda Rousey. So now a lot of hardcore MMA morons are going gaga thinking "Oh boy! Ronda vs Cyborg by the end of the year". Think again. This is not news. Last year, Cyborg agreed to drop to 135 before she took on Tito Ortiz as manager and they started planting stories about how dropping to 135 was unsafe. Most of us don't buy that BS. It's a red herring anyway because it was not the reason the UFC agreed to release Cyborg. For one thing, Ortiz wanted a lot more money than the UFC thought she was worth. Whether fans cheer or boo her, Ronda Rousey is a draw. And she is a draw to casual fans. Cris Cyborg is not a draw. In fact, she almost killed women's MMA when she was Strikeforce champ. Remember her fight vs Jan Finney? It was a fan killer. So the UFC is not going to pay her like she is a draw. But the big issue was that the UFC wanted to sign her to a seven fight contract and Cyborg and Ortiz only wanted three fights. This is an issue because the UFC doesn't want Cyborg to drop to 135 and then dump the belt and and return to 145. They want her to make a long term commitment to making 135lb. For that reason, they won't sign her to a three fight contract. They don't and shouldn't trust her. And they don't need her. So until she makes a long term commitment to 135lb, I don't expect the UFC to be interested in her. She knows this and her statement is another futile attempt to try for a big payday before she slips into obscurity because there is no depth at 145lb.

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