UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg Gives Her Opinion About Ronda Rousey’s Move to WWE…
Ronda Rousey made headlines this week after officially signing for the WWE. Regarded as the pioneer for women’s mixed martial arts, she was also arguably the UFC’s first mainstream superstar. UFC President Dana White once infamously said that women would never fight for the organization. Rousey changed his mind on her own.
Numerous fighters have had their say about Rousey’s new career path. One of the most interesting perspectives came from Cris Cyborg, the UFC Women’s featherweight champion. Even though they’ve never actually fought, Rousey and Cyborg have maintained a rivalry throughout their careers.
As two of the UFC ‘s most dominant female champions, it’s not surprising that they were constantly linked to fighting each other. However, it never happened because Cyborg would have had to cut too much weight. In an interview with MMA Fighting, Cyborg addressed Rousey’s move to the entertainment business of professional wrestling.
Throwing Shade
Throughout the interview, Cyborg seemed to feel sorry for Rousey, but this didn’t stop her passing some subtle digs at her former rival. She said:
“I believe that she will be happy in WWE, and it’s completely different from the reality of MMA. For an example, wins and losses are decided before the shows.”
Woah. Steady on Cyborg. As ever she’s not taking prisoners. It’s very true that WWE is an entertainment business where it’s members are constantly fighting for exposure. Rousey can expect plenty of that considering the hype generated by her signing for the promotion.
Empathy
Cyborg did offer an interesting input into the mindset of a defeated fighter. Since her defeats to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, Rousey has shunned the media, a practice she continued in her WWE appearance. Cyborg commented on how Rousey might be struggling to come to terms with her fall from grace, after being at the top for so long.
“I think it’s normal. In reality, we can only talk about things that we already overcame in our minds,” said Cyborg. “She hasn’t overcome her MMA losses yet, even in another stage of her career. Sometimes people need professional help to get over it.”
Unbeaten
While it is fascinating to gain an insight into the mindsets of fighters and the turmoil that defeat can create, it doesn’t seem like a problem that Cyborg will face anytime soon. She’s currently coming off a title defence against Holly Holm and has a professional record of 21-1-1. Her only defeat was on her debut way back in 2005. Since then Cyborg has brutalized almost everyone she has fought.
Her next opponent looks set to be Amanda Nunes. Funnily enough, she’s fighting Holm and Nunes in the same sequence as Rousey did. Her fellow Brazilian is the current UFC women’s bantamweight champion but will come up a division to fight Cyborg.
Rousey will very likely make her first ‘competitive’ wrestling appearance at WrestleMania, on April 8 in New Orleans. Expect to hear a lot more about that soon.
