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Cris Cyborg rep: Holly Holm ‘pricing herself out’ of UFC 219 title fight intentionally
Filed under: Featured, News, UFC
Women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg agreed to fight Holly Holm at UFC 219 – that’s what her camp knows.
If money is what’s preventing the fight from happening, a representative for Cyborg says they’ll just have to move on.
“The big fights are the ones you want as a fighter,” manager George Prajin today told MMAjunkie. “Those lead to the most money. I can’t speak for her camp. All I can say is that Cris has agreed to the fight.”
Cyborg remains on good terms with the UFC and awaits her next matchup, Prajin said. That search remains active as the date for her possible return approaches.
Camps for Cyborg (18-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) were in talks for a fight at UFC 219, which takes place Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. But today Holm’s longtime manager, Lenny Frequez, told MMAFighting.com the deal is “dead” after he and the promotion “could not come to financial terms.”
“I would assume Holly doesn’t want to fight Cris,” Prajin said. “Holly is pricing herself out of the fight because she doesn’t want to fight her.”
Fresquez didn’t immediately reply to a message requesting comment.
UFC President Dana White was optimistic about getting a deal done, as was Holm, though she expressed concerns over drug testing that eventually spilled into a social media fight in which Cyborg and Holm verbally sparred over the issue.
Cyborg complained she’s been targeted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and questioned whether Holm’s camp – which she claimed had perpetuated more doping violations than any other camp – was under the same scrutiny. Holm shot back a video reply pointing out she’d actually been tested on more occasions in the most recent quarter of the year.
Prajin, though, shot down the idea that drug testing had anything to do with the difficulty putting the fight together. The real problem, he added, is finding a willing opponent.
“There aren’t many girls willing to fight her in the first place,” Prajin said. “So whoever’s willing to take that courageous step, hey, we welcome it.”
For more on UFC 219, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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