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Cris Cyborg’s feud with Ronda Rousey was once regular fodder for headlines when a potential showdown loomed.
During Rousey’s heyday as women’s bantamweight champ, where the sport was thrust into the mainstream consciousness, UFC President Dana White said a fight between the women’s MMA titans would generate 2 million pay-per-view buys.
Today, that figure can be relegated a long list of fantasies destined for the scrapbin. Thought to be the next big thing, the sport’s cruel reality exposed Rousey when a head kick from Holly Holm sent her MMA career tumbling in 2015.
Now, Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) is a full-time professional wrestler, her MMA comeback halted at the close of 2016 by another knockout from current bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes (15-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC). Cyborg (20-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), meanwhile, is considered the most dominant force in women’s MMA. The headlines now follow Cyborg and Nunes, but not as breathlessly.
Cyborg still gets asked about Rousey, of course. For better or worse, the two are entwined in the sport’s consciousness. Whenever Rousey says or does something, Cyborg is asked to react, which is why she found herself addressing the ex-champ’s controversial explanation for her media silence.
In previous years, Cyborg hasn’t hesitated to take Rousey to task for her behavior. But these days, she’s over the drama.
“I think I don’t need to tell her anything,” Cyborg told EsNews. “I think life has taught her a lot of things. I think a lot of things happened through her life and her career. I hope she’s learned something from that. Be humble and respect people. I think this is most important.”
Asked whether Rousey has actually followed through on that advice, Cyborg said, “I don’t know her in person. I think if she’s not coming back to fight and she’s running away, that’s not going to change anything. But I’m not here to judge anybody.”
Cyborg, after all, is focused on her own legacy. She recently notched the second defense of her featherweight title. A showdown with Nunes could further cement her status as the best female MMA fighter in the world should she come out ahead.
Not as many people want to ask about that, but there’s the price of a famous rivalry.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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