Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino’s long unbeaten record is something of a double-edged sword.
Her reputation has grown after not tasting defeat in MMA competition for more than a decade, but she is still waiting for that big fight against one of the UFC’s star names.
The former Strikeforce and Invicta champion made her UFC bow at a 140 lb catchweight in Curitiba earlier this year, beating Leslie Smith and Lina Länsberg by TKO in her first two bouts, but the lack of a women’s division above 135 has seen her options limited.
That could soon change, though, with Miesha Tate admitting she would not be against a match-up from which she feels she’d have “nothing to lose”.
Cyborg (L) beat Leslie Smith on her UFC debut (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
“I wouldn’t be against it,” Tate told The MMA Hour on Monday evening.
“You’re fighting a girl who’s such a powerhouse and such a beast and just crushing girls, that if I went in there and I beat her, or even gave her a solid run for her money, that says a lot.
“When I was the champ they told me I wouldn’t be allowed a catchweight, either she’d have to fight me at 135 or I’d have to not be the champion…now I’m not the champion.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to doing it but it’s not something that’s been discussed.”
Tate’s next fight comes against Raquel Pennington, as part of the monster UFC 205 card in New York.
It will be the first time ‘Cupcake’ has fought since losing her bantamweight title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 in July, but she is refusing to underestimate her opponent.
Tate lost her belt to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
She’s a lot tougher than a lot of people are going to give her credit for,” Tate said.
“She’s tough to put away, she’s tough to finish, she’s going to be in it to win it the whole time so I know that I’m going to be in for a tough one.”
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